^abaptists 


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THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 


\ 


THE 
DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 


THE  STONE  LECTURES 
DELIVERED  AT  THE  PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

1918-1919 


By 
HENRY  ELIAS  DOSKER 

n 
Professor  of  Church  History, 
In  the  Fkvsbyterian  Theological  Seminary  of  Kentucky 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE    JUDSON     PRESS 

BOSTON  CHICAGO  ST.  LOUIS  LOS  ANGELES 

KANSAS  CrrX  SEATTLE  TORONTO 


Copyright,  igai,  by 
GILBERT  N.  BRINK,  Secretary 


Published  July,  1921 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


®0^ 


WHOSE    LOVE   AND    UNSELFISHNESS 

HAS    BEEN    MY    LIFELONG 

INSPIRATION 


CG€Mo 


PREFACE 

Dr.  Henry  E.  Dosker,  the  author  of  this  volume,  is  the 
Professor  of  Church  History  in  the  Presbyterian  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Louisville,  Ky.  Doctor  Dosker  gave 
this  course  of  lectures  at  Princeton  University  a  year  or 
more  ago.  The  American  Baptist  Publication  Society  ex- 
amined the  manuscript  with  a  view  to  publication,  as  it 
deals  with  the  history  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists,  and  is 
naturally  of  interest  to  Baptists.  The  Society  requested 
me  to  read  the  manuscript  before  publication.  This  I  have 
done  and  have  been  greatly  interested  in  it. 

It  follows,  naturally,  that  there  are  a  number  of  things 
in  it  with  which  I  do  not  agree  and,  as  I  understand  the 
matter,  the  Publication  Society  is  issuing  it  because  of  its 
wide  general  interest.  Being  a  discussion  of  the  history 
of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  by  a  Presbyterian,  it  has  an 
added  interest.  The  history  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  is 
not  generally  known.  Doctor  Dosker  has  done  much 
scholarly  research  work  in  connection  with  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  manuscript,  and  while  it  contains  some  things 
which  Baptists  will  not  accept,  it  contains  a  great  deal 
which  will  be  of  exceeding  interest  to  them. 

The  style  is  clear  and  concise,  and  the  book  is  easy  to 
read,  and  no  doubt  it  will  be  read  by  a  large  number. 

E.   Y.    MULLINS. 


INTRODUCTION 


The  field  of  geography  is  practically  exhausted ;  only  here 
and  there,  in  remote  corners  of  the  world,  restricted  areas 
are  still  awaiting  the  explorer's  daring. 

It  is  different  in  the  field  of  history.  The  earth's  records 
are  practically  indestructible,  and  they  remain  from  gen- 
eration to  generation.  Those  of  history  are  evanescent; 
men  and  customs  change,  nations  appear  and  disappear, 
national  boundary-lines  are  continually  melting  away,  and 
the  written  records  of  human  events  are  perishable.  This 
is  specially  true  of  Church  History,  since  ecclesiastical 
prejudice  and  bigotry  have  often  deliberately  tried  to  wipe 
out  the  literature  which  explains  and  illuminates  historic 
movements  and  ecclesiastical  changes. 

In  the  period  of  the  early  ages  of  Christianity,  the  in- 
cessant persecutions,  under  the  Empire,  were  directed 
against  the  written  records  of  the  nascent  Church,  as 
well  as  against  its  living  members.  And  thus,  alas,  much 
has  been  lost  which  would  be  of  infinite  value  were  it  ex- 
tant today.  The  word  traditores,  born  in  Christian  circles 
from  this  effort,  is  a  mute  witness  to  the  extent  and 
intensity  of  the  attempt  to  rob  the  Christians  of  their 
sacred  writings,  inasmuch  as  it  was  specially  directed 
against  the  latter. 

We  are  by  no  means  sure  that  the  canon  of  the  New 
Testament,  as  we  have  it  today,  represents  the  sum  total 


INTRODUCTION 

of  the  literary  work  of  the  apostles  and  their  contem- 
poraries. Some  apostolic  writings  we  know  to  be  lost, 
and  it  is  practically  inconceivable  that  of  all  the  apostles 
only  those  whose  literary  remains  we  possess,  should  have 
endeavored  to  express  their  ideas  in  writing. 

A  similar  effort  to  destroy  heretical  literature  was  made, 
in  the  age  of  the  Reformation,  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  The  Inquisition  exerted  itself  to  the/ utmost  in 
this  direction.  In  Italy  and  Spain,  in  Austria  and  Hol- 
land, wholesale  heretical  book-burnings  were  a  common 
occurrence.  And  we  learn  the  efficiency  of  this  combing 
process  from  the  fate  of  a  book,  originating  in  the  circles 
of  The  Oratory  of  the  Divine  Love,  in  Italy.  It  was  en- 
titled "The  Benefits  of  Christ's  Death"— 1542— and  has 
usually  been  ascribed  to  Aeonio  Paleario,  till  Ranke  and 
Benrath  proved  it  to  be  written  by  a  Neapolitan  monk, 
Don  Benedetto  de  Mandova.  It  seemed  as  if  the  efforts 
of  the  Inquisition  to  destroy  this  work  had  been  com- 
pletely successful,  since  in  thirty  years  not  a  copy  of  the 
original  was  thought  to  exist,  and  in  a  century  all  trans- 
lations had  been  apparently  wiped  out.  And  yet  a  single 
copy  remained,  which  was  found  at  Cambridge  in  1853 
and  published,  with  a  translation,  in  1855. 

This  same  bitter  attempt  to  destroy  the  writings  of  all 
heretics  was  made  in  Holland  in  the  days  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  it  exerted  itself  most  keenly  against  those  of  the 
Anabaptists,  so  that  of  all  their  numerous  writings  only 
fragments  remained  here  and  there. 

And  it  was  these  scattered  fragments  which  were  gath- 
ered together  in  the  ten  volumes  of  the  Bihliotheca  Re- 


INTRODVCTION 

formatoria  Neerlandica,  1903-1914.  The  reading  of  this 
ancient  Anabaptist  and  reformatory  literature  first  led  me 
to  the  plan  of  attempting  to  shed  some  light  on  the  Dutch 
Anabaptists,  who  suffered  so  unspeakably  and  who  ex- 
erted an  influence  on  the  course  of  ecclesiastical  develop- 
ment in  Protestantism  wholly  disproportionate  to  their 
numbers. 

I  make  no  special  literary  claims  for  this  work;  its 
dress  may  please  or  displease  the  reader;  I  am  simply 
after  the  facts.  Since  the  language  of  practically  all  this 
literature  is  a  bar  to  nearly  all  English  and  American 
students  of  Church  History,  it  seemed  worth  while  to 
give  them  at  least  a  glimpse  of  this  terra  incognita,  in 
which  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  have  dwelt  so  long,  in  a 
perpetual  twilight. 

The  invitation  to  deliver  the  Stone  Lectures,  1918- 
1919,  at  Princeton,  facilitated  my  plans. 

I  place  this  little  volume  in  the  hands  of  the  friends 
and  students  of  Church  History.  In  it  they  will  learn 
where  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  originated,  what  were  the 
normal  and  abnormal  developments  of  their  history,  who 
were  their  great  leaders,  what  they  believed,  what  they 
practised,  what  were  their  weaknesses,  and  what  was  the 
secret  of  their  strength,  how  they  were  swayed  by  out- 
side influences,  and  what  is  the  ecclesiastical  status  of 
the  remnant  today. 

Henry  Elias  Dosker. 

Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary  of  Kentucky, 
Louisville,  Kv. 


CONTENTS 

LKCTURK  PAGB 

I.  Origin  and  Early  Development 1-46 

1.  The  Sources 4 

2.  Pre-Reformation  currents  in  Holland  ...  8 

3.  Were  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  Waldenses  ?  16 

(a)  Late  origin  of  the  theory 16 

(b)  Early  Anabaptist  views 17 

4.  General  social  conditions 21 

5.  The  Miinzer  revolution  26 

6.  The  Swiss  Anabaptists 28 

(a)  Leaders    30 

(b)  Position  of  Zwingli 32 

(c)  The  dark  page  in  Protestant  history  34 

7.  The  dawn  of  Anabaptism  in  Holland  and 

its  swift  spread 40 

8.  The  Anabaptists  were  universally  hated .  42 

9.  Constant  touch  with  England 45 

n.  The  Radical  Anabaptists 47-94 

I.  Theological  radicalism   47-63 

1.  Melchior  Hoffmann   47 

2.  David  Joris   53 

3.  Hendrick  Niklaes  56 

4.  Adam  Pastor 58 

5.  Sebastian  Franck 61 


CONTENTS 

LKCTUKB  FAGR 

II.  The  economic  and  social  radicalism 63-94 

1.  The  Miinster  tragedy 69 

2.  Revolutionary  movements  in  Holland  . .     84 

3.  The  menace  of  the  old  name 92 

III.  The  Conservatives  95-149 

1.  Obbe  Philips 96 

2.  Derek   Philips  101 

3.  Menno  Simons 106 

4.  The  era  of  schisms 118 

5.  The  martyrs 137 

6.  Condition  under  the  nascent  Republic  . .  144 

IV.  The  Theology  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  150-196 

1.  Their  theology  in  general^. 151 

2.  The  Scriptures :'>^ 152 

3.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 154 

4.  The  doctrine  of  Christ 158 

5.  Original  sin  171 

6.  The  doctrine  of  salvation 173 

7.  The  sacraments,  baptism  and  the  Lord's 

Supper   176 

8.  The  Ban  189 

Conclusion    196 

V.  Internal  Conditions  and  Views  of  Life  .   197-242 

1.  Defections    198 

2.  Their  views  of  life 199 

3.  Their  confessions  ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 201 


CONTENTS 

LBCTURH  PACB 

4.  Their  social  standing  and  pure  life 205 

5.  Peculiar  views 209 

6.  Names 216 

7.  An  analytical  sketch  of  their  church  life 

in  the  eighteenth  century 218 

VI.  Later  History 243-295 

1.  Strength  of  the  Mennonites  in  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries 244 

2.  Effects  of  Arminianism 247 

(a)  Arminian  theology 248 

(,b)  The  Collegiants  250 

3.  Influence  of  Socinianism 256 

4.  Growing  importance  of  the  Mennonites.  264 

5.  Benevolence  of  the  Mennonites 266 

6.  The  growing  love  for  scholarship 267 

7.  The  French  revolution 273 

8.  Influence  of  Modernism 277 

9.  Final  union-efforts  and  present  condition  280 
10.  Influence  of  the  Mennonites  on  ecclesias- 
tical developments,  especially  in  En- 
gland     282 

Bibliography    297 

Index 301 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS 

For  the  last  dozen  years,  the  greater  portion  of  my  spare 
time  has  been  devoted  to  special  work  on  the  subject, 
which  I  have  chosen  for  the  "  Stone  Lectures  "  of  1918- 
1919. 

It  is  an  engrossing  subject,  but  shrouded  in  a  good  deal 
of  mystery.  Most  of  us  know  something  about  the  widely 
extended  Anabaptist  movement,  which  paralleled  the  his- 
tory of  the  Reformation.  All  students  of  Church  History 
must  necessarily  touch  the  life  and  labors  of  these  Ana- 
baptists, for  in  the  sixteenth  century  they  were  to  be  found 
in  all  Europe,  but  especially  in  Switzerland,  Upper  Ger- 
many, and  Holland.  Crushed  and  practically  wiped  out 
everywhere  else,  they  rooted  themselves  deeply  in  the 
soil  of  Poland,  in  Northern  Germany,  and  above  all  in 
the  Low  Countries.  And  thence,  whenever  persecution 
passed  beyond  the  sustaining-point,  they  crossed  the  chan- 
nel and  moved  to  England,  where  their  history  is  closely 
interwoven  with  that  of  the  Non-conformists  in  general 
and  especially  with  the  nascent  history  of  the  English 
Baptists  and  therefore  with  the  great  Baptist  denomina- 
tion of  the  world. 

And  yet  how  meager  has  been  our  knowledge  of  them, 
and  how  eagerly  some  of  us  have  sought  for  a  closer 
touch  and  a  more  intimate  knowledge.  For  they  are 
worth  knowing  about — are  these  Anabaptists. 

Doctor  Harnack  used  to  say,  in  his  classroom,  that 
"they  were  three  hundred  years  ahead  of  their  time," 

1 


2.    ..  .THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

and  Doctor  Vedder  calls  them  "  the  radical  Reformation." 
If  these  estimates  are  true — and  we  will  test  their  truth, 
as  we  penetrate  more  deeply  into  our  subject — it  may  be 
worth  while  to  endeavor  to  raise  the  curtain  which  hides 
the  stage  on  which  they  moved.  And  for  the  raising  of 
that  curtain  I  had  waited  for  many  years,  and  my  eyes 
were  constantly  searching  the  distant  horizon  for  further 
light  on,  and  a  deeper  knowledge  of,  the  Anabaptist 
movement,  especially  of  that  portion  of  it  which  was 
wrapped  up  in  the  reformatory  efforts  in  my  fatherland. 

Fortunately  the  language  was  no  bar  to  research  work, 
as  most  of  the  available  sources  were  written  in  modern 
or  middle  Dutch.  Hooft  and  Brandt  and  Wagenaar, 
^pey-Dermout,  Bilderdyk,  and  Van  Lennep,  Fruin  and 
Motley,  all  had  treated  them  slightly  or  more  exhaustively, 
as  the  case  seemed  to  demand.  I  had  read  after  the  elder 
Cramer  and  Blaupot  Ten  Gate,  and  especially  after  that 
eminent  authority,  Dr.  De  Hoop  Scheffer — and  yet  there 
remained  a  void. 

For  all  these,  however  scholarly  their  treatment,  af- 
forded only  a  reflected  light,  a  vision  of  the  Anabaptist 
world,  as  they  saw  it.  And  I  longed  for  the  open  vision, 
for  a  look  face  to  face,  for  the  writings  of  these  old  Ana- 
baptists themselves,  or  for  what  their  contemporaries 
had  written  about  them.  But  these  documents  were  so 
rare  and  so  jealously  guarded  that  they  were  practically 
inaccessible;  for  the  powers  of  the  Church  and  State 
alike  had  vied  with  each  other  in  their  efforts  to  wipe  this 
heretical  literature  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Their  zeal  had  included  Lutheran  and  Anabaptist  and 
early  Calvinistic  writings  alike,  that  is  to  say,  they  had 
tried  to  make  a  clean  sweep  of  all  the  literature  of  the 
three  reformatory  waves  which  had  passed  over  the  Low- 
lands in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century.    Naturally, 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    3 

the  greater  part  of  this  literature  has  perished,  but  some 
of  it  remains  and  what  remains  is  exceedingly  precious 
and  rare.  Of  several  of  these  literary  products  only  one 
copy  is  extant,  of  some  two  or  more ;  of  a  few  books,  ex- 
amples of  different  editions  are  found.  And  it  is  this 
literature  that  is  needed  for  a  proper  study  of  early  Dutch 
Protestantism  and,  in  a  special  degree,  for  that  of  the 
Anabaptist  movement. 

Some  of  our  historians,  especially  the  Baptists,  went 
across  the  sea  and  searched  far  and  wide  for  these  pre- 
cious documents.  Yet  in  the  end  they  were  compelled, 
almost  without  exception,  to  fall  back  on  second-hand 
information;  because  even  if  they  found  the  documents, 
they  proved  inaccessible.  And  if  they  succeeded  in  laying 
their  hands  on  them,  they  were  confronted  with  the  well- 
nigh  insurmountable  obstacle  of  the  language,  till  many 
turned  away  in  weariness  and  disgust. 

Then  came  the  blessed  year  1902,  in  which  Professor 
Dr.  S.  Cramer,  of  Amsterdam,  and  Professor  Dr.  F. 
Pyper,  of  Leyden,  resolved  to  assume  the  heroic  task  of 
collecting  and  editing  all  this  early  reformatory  Dutch 
literature,  or  rather  its  sacred  remains.  It  was  a  grueling 
and  thankless  task.  There  was  no  money  in  it ;  I  do  not 
think  the  publication  even  paid  for  itself.  But  these  men 
have  given  to  the  students  of  Church  History  an  actual 
reprint  of  these  documents,  letter  for  letter,  comma  for 
comma,  so  that  one  has  easy  access  today  to  the  very 
sources,  which  a  dozen  years  ago  were  beyond  the  reach 
of  all  but  a  few  favored  ones.  And  in  this  heartless  and 
monotonous  labor  they  spent  twelve  of  the  best  years  of 
their  lives,  till  ten  quarto  volumes  had  been  issued  and 
each  document  had  been  enriched  with  an  introduction, 
so  searching,  so  illuminating  that  the  document  itself  is 
trebled  in  value.     Doctor  Cramer  died  before  the  last 


4  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

volume  was  issued,  but  Doctor  Pyper  was  able  to  see  the 
matter  through  to  the  end.  Thus  the  Bibliotheca  Refor- 
matoria  Neerlandica  will  forever  remain  a  proud  monu- 
ment to  the  disinterested  scholarship  of  these  two  great 
Dutchmen. 

1.  The  Sources 

For  the  preparation  of  these  lectures  I  have  then  first 
of  all  availed  myself  of  these  ten  volumes.  They  are  a 
rich  storehouse  of  information  concerning  the  entire  Ana- 
baptist movement,  but  especially  that  in  Holland.  But  the 
language  remains  a  serious  drawback.  Were  they  writ- 
ten in  modern  Dutch,  the  problem  would  be  comparatively 
easy  to  solve.  But  they  are  written  in  the  Dutch  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  a  composite  tongue,  with  a  weird  spell- 
ing and  a  weirder  punctuation,  so  that  even  to  a  Dutch- 
man of  fair  attainments  they  are  somewhat  of  a  problem. 
Even  the  learned  editors  had  here  and  there  to  guess  at 
the  meaning  of  a  word,  some  long-lost  and  forgotten 
idiom.  Yet  no  sooner  has  one  mastered  the  key  to  their 
understanding  but  he  finds  himself  in  a  surprisingly  rich 
mine  of  information  concerning  the  Dutch  Anabaptists. 
Nay  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  whoever  will  hereafter 
seriously  set  himself  to  the  task  of  studying  this  subject 
will  have  to  reckon  with  these  ten  volumes.  Here  we  get 
a  glimpse  of  the  peculiar  Weltanschauung  of  these  Ana- 
baptists ;  of  their  puritanical,  almost  ascetic  view  of  life ; 
of  their  theology,  in  many  points  radically  at  variance 
with  Rome  and  the  Reformers  alike.  Here  we  find  the 
secret  of  their  strength  as  well  as  their  weakness,  of  their 
internal  divisions  and  endless  quarrels,  but  also  of  the 
sublimity  of  their  courage  and  countless  martyrdoms. 

One  cannot  peruse  these  documents,  hoary  with  age, 
without  an  increasing  reverence  for  a  people  apparently 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    5 

so  weak  yet  so  strong;  loyal  to  their  convictions  to  the 
bitter  end,  ever  at  variance  within  the  family  circle,  yet 
always  showing  a  united  front  to  a  common  foe. 

Of  these  ten  volumes,  the  second,  the  fifth,  the  seventh, 
and  the  tenth  are  of  special  importance;  but  there  is  not 
one  of  the  ten  from  which  either  direct  or  reflected  light 
does  not  fall  on  our  subject. 

In  the  second  volume  we  find  "  The  Sacrifice  of  the 
Lord,"  ^  the  pathetic  story  of  their  martyrdoms ;  to  which 
is  added  a  collection  of  songs,  written  either  by  or  about 
the  martyrs,  entitled  "  A  Book  of  Songs."  ^  In  the  fifth 
volume  we  find  Henrick  Roll's  "  The  Key  to  the  Secret 
of  the  Supper,"  ^  of  which  only  three  copies  are  known  to 
exist ;  here  also  Hoffman's  "  Ordinance  of  God  "  *  and  his 
"  Explanation  of  the  Captive  and  the  Free  Will."  ®  In 
this  volume  are  two  works  of  Adam  Pastor :  his  "  Dif- 
ference Between  True  and  False  Doctrine"'  and  his 
"  Disputation  of  the  Divinity  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost."  ^ 

In  this  volume  we  also  find  the  first  trace  of  an  at- 
tempt at  consolidation  of  Anabaptist  believers  into  one 
cohesive  group,  soon  to  be  known  as  Doopsgesinden, 
those  inclined  to  baptism  or  Baptists,  The  derivation  of 
the  word  Doopsgezinde  may  be  from  gezind,  "  inclined 
to,"  or  from  gesindte,  an  association  of  believers  on  a 
fixed  doctrinal  basis.  In  the  latter  case  adult  baptism 
would  be  such  a  basis.  The  former  derivation  seems, 
however,  more  likely  correct,  inasmuch  as  the  Anabaptists 
never  formed  a  gezindte  in  the  true  sense. 

*  Het  Offer  des  Heeren.  *  Een  Liedboexken. 
'Die  Slotel  van  het  Secreet  des  Nachtmaels. 

*  Die  Ordinantie  Gods. 

5  Verclaringhe  van  de  Genangen  ende  Vrien  Wil. 
"  Underscheit  tusschen  Rechte  Leer  vnde  Valsche  Leer. 
^Disputation   van   der   Godtheit  des    Vaders,   des  Soens  ende   des  H. 
Geistes. 


6  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

The  seventh  volume  is  rich  in  historical  writings  of 
the  reformatory  period,  by  which  many  a  'mystery  is 
cleared  up  and  a  better  sense  of  proportion  is  given  us 
than  we  had  before.  The  writings  in  this  volume  are 
mostly  from  the  hands  of  opponents  of  the  Anabaptists. 
But,  as  Doctor  Cramer  says,  in  his  introduction :  "  The 
fact  that  they  were  written  by  opponents  does  not  dimin- 
ish their  historical  value.  The  judgments  pronounced  may 
be  one-sided,  but  the  writers  were  evidently  well  in- 
formed." And  in  weighing  this  testimony,  we  should 
remember  that  it  was  given  by  one  who  was  one  of  the 
foremost  leaders  of  the  present-day  Dutch  Mennonites. 

The  copy  of  Alenson's  Critique,^  here  reprinted,  so  far 
as  known,  was  the  only  one  in  existence.  Here  we  find 
the  Successio  Anabaptistica  ^  and  Carel  van  Ghent's  "  Be- 
ginning and  Progress  "  ^^  invaluable  contributions  to  the 
knowledge  of  contemporaneous  Anabaptism.  Also  the 
strangely  moving  "  Confession  "  "  of  Obbe  Philips,  one 
of  the  first  leaders  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists,  who  parted 
from  them  in  sorrow.  Here  also  we  find  the  "  Inter- 
polations," ^2  by  Gerardus  Nicolai,  in  Henry  Bullinger's 
great  book  against  the  Anabaptists,  printed  in  1531  and 
reedited  thirty  years  later.  Carel  van  Ghent's  work,  al- 
though his  title  to  the  authorship  is  not  wholly  clear, 
is  of  the  utmost  value  to  the  historian.  It  tells  the  story 
of  the  early  schisms  among  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  and 
has  been  used  as  a  source  by  all  later  writers  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

The  tenth  volume  is  invaluable  because  it  reprints  all 
the  known  writings  of  Derek  Philips,  who,  next  to  Menno 

*  Tegenbericht. 

"Latin  title,  with  Dutch  text. 
*"  Beghinsel  ende  Voortganck. 
*i  Bekentenisse  Obbe  Philipsz. 
"  Inlasschingen. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    7 

Simons,  was  the  greatest  leader  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists. 
The  Bibliotheca  does  not  reprint  the  works  of  Menno, 
because  they  were  issued  in  the  seventeenth  century,  in 
one  large  octavo  volume,  under  the  title  "  Opera  Omnia 
M.  S." 

By  bringing  to  light  all  these  rare  and  practically  lost 
Anabaptistica,  many  things  are  made  clear  that  were 
nebulous  before;  many  things,  in  dispute,  now  may  be 
considered  settled;  and  many  things  in  the  history  of 
the  Non-conformists  in  England,  so  closely  allied  with 
the  Anabaptist  movement,  are  explained  and  cleared  up. 
The  whole  field  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptist  history  has  been 
lifted  from  the  realm  of  the  obscure  and  debatable  into 
that  of  clear  understanding  and  appreciation. 

Also  many  things,  in  the  later  development  of  the 
history  of  Protestantism  in  general,  are  found  to  be  evi- 
dently related  to  or  ultimately  explainable  by  the  Ana- 
baptist movement  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Their  in- 
fluence has  been  manifestly  underrated  and  carries 
infinitely  farther  than  is  generally  supposed. 

I  have  definitely  limited  myself,  in  this  study,  very 
largely  to  Dutch  and  German  works,  besides  the  Biblio- 
theca Reformatoria  Neerlandica.  For  the  Miinster  tragedy 
I  have  largely  relied  on  Dr.  Ludwig  Keller's  Geschichte 
der  Wiederfdufer  und  ihres  Reiches  in  Miinster.  Being 
archivarius  at  Miinster,  the  author  had  access  to  docu- 
ments of  the  rarest  value.  I  have  also  utilized  the  works 
of  Cornelius,  Hast,  and  Tumbult,  but  especially  the  mov- 
ing recital  of  the  events  at  Miinster,  1534-1535,  by  Hein- 
rich  Dorpius,  an  eye-witness  of  these  horrors,  reprinted  in 
1847  by  Friedrich  Merschmann. 

A  number  of  rare  treasures  were  kindly  loaned  me  by 
the  magnificent  library  of  the  Baptist  Theological  Semi- 
nary, at  Louisville,  Ky.     Chief  among  these  are:  "The 


8  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Story  of  the  Anabaptist  Riots,"  ^^  by  Lambertus  Hor- 
tensius,  1694 ;  "  The  Life  and  Activities  of  Menno 
Simons,"  ^*  by  A.  M.  Cramer,  1837,  the  father  of  one  of 
the  editors  of  the  Bibliotheca;  "Present  Condition  of  the 
Doopsgezinden,  or  Mennonites,  in  the  United  Nether- 
lands," ^^  by  Frederick  Rues ;  and  "  A  More  Extended 
Treatment  of  the  History  of  the  Mennonites,"  ^®  by  Her- 
mannus  Schyn,  1744. 

2.  Pre-Reformation  Currents  in  Holland 

In  the  introduction  to  the  Bibliotheca,  the  editors  tell 
us  that  their  aim  is  "  to  afford  building  material,  on  a 
large  scale,  to  the  students  of  history."  What  is  here 
reprinted,  a  dozen  years  ago,  was  scarcely  known  at  all. 
It  was  scattered  in  public  and  private  libraries,  sometimes 
kept  under  lock  and  key  and  practically  inaccessible.  "  It 
seems  desirable  [they  say]  to  remove  these  bars  and  to 
collect  what  now  lies  scattered,  in  the  four  quarters  of 
the  wind.  All  who  are  interested  must  have  easy  access 
to  these  monuments  of  the  past.  The  more  searchers 
study  and  compare  them  and  bring  them  in  contact  with 
what  is  known  from  other  sources,  the  better."  ^^  How 
true  these  words  are.    Building  material  indeed ! 

The  Dutch  Reformation  did  not  spring  full-grown 
into  the  arena,  any  more  than  the  German  or  Swiss  or 
French  or  that  of  any  other  country.  The  dawn  pre- 
cedes the  day  in  great  human  events,  as  well  as  in  nature. 
And  as  many  rills  form  a  stream,  a  great  many  tendencies 
in  pre-Reformation  times  seem  to  herald  the  coming 
event. 

^  Verhael  van  de  Oproeren  der  WederdooPers. 
"  Hei  teven  en  de  verrigtingen  van  Menno  Simons. 
^^  Tegenwoordige   Staet   der  Doopsgesinden,   in   de    Vereenigde   Neder- 
landen. 

"  Uitvoeriger  Verhandeling  van  de  Qeschiedenissen  der  Mennonifen, 
M  Introduction,  B.  R.  fJ, 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    9 

Heresy  was  in  the  air.  Even  the  professors  at  Louvain, 
famed  for  its  orthodoxy,  and  later  on  one  of  the  fulcrums 
of  the  Inquisition,  from  which  Erasmus  was  compelled  to 
flee,  through  a  feeling  of  growing  uneasiness,  at  this 
earlier  date  were  not  altogether  free  from  the  suspicion 
of  heresy.^*  This  indicates  how  wide-spread  was  the 
feeling  of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction  with  existing  con- 
ditions, in  the  days  immediately  preceding  the  Reforma- 
tion. 

The  sale  of  indulgences  was  the  spark  which  exploded 
the  magazine  of  the  revolt,  but  of  the  real  inwardness  of 
these  sales  we  know  but  little  in  an  authentic  way.  We 
know  that  Tetzel  had  some  private  instructions  printed 
for  the  personal  use  of  the  preachers  of  indulgences.  But 
here  in  the  Bibliotheca  we  find  the  reprint  of  a  document 
of  the  earliest  days  of  the  Reformation,  containing  certain 
rules  for  this  sale,  from  the  hand  of  no  less  a  personage 
than  that  of  Pope  Adrian  VI,  dated  1515,  and  here 
printed  for  the  first  time.  It  was  intended  to  regulate  a 
special  sale  of  indulgences,  which  for  three  years  was  to 
have  precedence  over  every  other,  and  its  proceeds  were 
intended  to  finance  the  needed  repairs  to  the  dikes  or 
levees,  those  ramparts  of  Dutch  safety.  No  one  was  to 
escape  the  net.  A  fixed  tariff  settles  the  price  each  is  to 
pay,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  Even  abbots  and 
cathedral  priests  are  not  allowed  to  go  free;  and  the 
scale  varies  between  twenty-five  Rhenish  guilders,  for  the 
highest  class,  to  six  stivers  for  the  lowest.^®  One  third 
of  the  proceeds  was  for  the  pope,  the  rest  went  into 
the  treasury  of  the  levee  work.  The  document  is  a  curi- 
ous one  and  throws  some  light  on  prevailing  conditions, 
in  the  Netherlands,  at  this  time.    How  earnestly  Adrian, 

"B.  R.  N.,  Ill,  27,  33,  35,  102,  107,  108,  109,  etc, 
WB,  R.  N.,  IX,  535-547, 


10  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

then  archbishop  of  Utrecht,  warns  against  the  competition 
of  other  indulgence-sales  during  these  three  years !  Such 
sales  were  then  a  very  common  matter  and  constituted  a 
serious  tax  on  the  purses  of  the  people.  People  are 
warned  not  to  ridicule  this  sale  or  to  jeer  at  it.  That, 
then,  must  have  been  a  not  uncommon  experience  for 
these  sales  and  their  promoters.  The  clergy  is  admon- 
ished to  preach  on  this  sale,  as  the  American  pulpit 
was  exhorted  to  promote  the  sale  of  Liberty  bonds.  What 
infinite  care  is  taken  lest  the  money  fall  into  the  wrong 
hands.  The  archbishop  evidently  knew  his  clergy!  The 
money  is  to  be  placed  in  a  locked  box,  from  which  nothing 
may  be  taken  either  by  a  commissary  or  subcommissary 
or  father  confessor  on  any  pretext  whatever.  The  pope 
is  to  have  his  full  third ;  all  the  rest  absolutely  goes  to  the 
dikes.2^  A  strange  world  to  live  in!  If  Adrian,  as  an 
archbishop,  was  the  same  man  he  was  in  the  papal  chair, 
these  conditions  were  kept  to  the  letter.  But  we  cannot 
wonder  that  such  a  parody  on  salvation  and  things  like 
it  created  antagonisms,  which  inevitably  must  lead  to  a 
revolt  like  the  Reformation. 

The  Brethren  of  the  Common  Life  occupy  a  conspicu- 
ous place  among  the  pioneers  of  the  Dutch  Reformation. 
How  Erasmus  hated  and  lampooned  them,  although  in 
their  schools  he  had  laid  the  foundations  for  his  later 
marvelous  success  as  a  Humanist.  They  were  semi- 
monastic,  and,  generally  speaking,  loyal  to  Rome.  But 
even  among  them  ran  a  rill  of  heresy.  For  in  the  docu- 
ments, reprinted  in  the  Bihliotheca,  we  find  proof  that 
they  furnished  their  quota  of  martyrs. 

In  the  Disputationes  contra  Lutheranos,  by  Jacob  van 
Hoogstraten,  the  bitter  inquisitor,  we  are  informed  that, 
in  1526,  two  brethren  of  the  fraterhouse,  at  Amersfoort, 

20  B.  R.  N.,  IX,  542. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS     11 

were  handed  over  to  the  civil  magistrate  for  execu- 
tion.2^ 

Another  strong  pre-Re  formation  force,  pointing  to  the 
coming  event,  was  found  in  the  so-called  "  Chambers  of 
the  Rhetoricians."  ^^  A  sample  of  their  work  is  found  in 
the  BihliothecaP  Doctor  Pyper  calls  it  "  a  heresy-process 
on  the  stage,"  and  such  it  is  without  a  question  of  a 
doubt.  The  play  is  founded  on  Acts,  chapters  3-5.  What 
a  parody  on  prevailing  conditions !  How  thinly  veiled  is 
the  bitterness  of  the  attack  on  the  Church,  her  priest- 
hood, her  morals,  and  her  heresy-hunting.  The  stage  was 
set  up  in  the  market-place.  It  was  a  Punch-and-Judy 
performance  on  a  large  scale,  only  the  puppets  were  liv- 
ing men  and  women.  Crowds  of  people  attended  the  per- 
formances, for  these  plays  were  very  popular.  It  was 
in  these  meetings  that  the  fuel  was  stacked  up  for  the 
coming  conflagration.  And  it  was  in  this  rough  school 
of  acting  that  John  of  Leyden  first  conceived  the  ideas 
later  embodied  in  the  Miinster  tragedy.  Not  rarely  these 
performances  cost  the  cities  which  permitted  them  dearly. 
It  is  said  that  a  production  of  a  play  of  the  Rhetorical 
Chamber  at  Ghent  was  responsible  for  the  terrible  chas- 
tisement which  Charles  V  administered  to  his  native  city, 
in  1540.  A  contemporaneous  writer  says,  "  These  plays 
have  cost  several  thousand  people  their  lives,  for  therein, 
for  the  first  time,  the  Word  of  God  was  opened  in  these 
regions."  ^* 

Several  distinct  pre-Reformation  currents  are  indicated 
in  bits  of  literature  that  have  come  down  to  us.  Some  of 
this  literature  is  reprinted  in  the  Bibliotheca. 

We  find  a  tract  there,  entitled  "  The  Fall  of  the  Romish 
Church,"  25  which,  from  internal  proofs.  Doctor  Pyper 

^B.  R.   N.,  Ill,  620^  28  B.  R.  N.,  I,  273  p.  P. 

^  Rederykerskamers.  2*  B.  R.  N.,  I,  2-^7.  [ 

'^  Den  Val  der  Roomscher  Kercke. 


12  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

argues  is  an  English  origin.  There  seems  to  be  no  vaHd 
reason  to  doubt  his  conclusion.  It  is  a  bitterly  keen 
polemic.  There  is  nothing  like  it  in  the  literature  of  the 
period.  The  man  who  wrote  it  was  evidently  deeply 
embittered  against  Rome  and  must  tave  suffered  much 
at  her  hands.  He  paints  the  ecclesiastical  picture  in  heavy 
colors.  Every  line  of  that  book  in  its  day  must  have 
been  like  vitriol  to  the  wounded  Romish  consciousness. 
Arguments,  ridicule,  sarcasm,  and  sneers  appear  in  turn, 
and  at  times  there  is  in  it  a  sound  of  hellish  laughter. 
The  priests  are  unmercifully  castigated,  their  hatred  of 
the  Bible  is  bitterly  lampooned,  their  moral  character 
ruthlessly  assailed.  One  shudders  at  the  state  of  mind 
which  produced  such  a  book.^** 

But  there  were  other  currents  than  this  of  undermin- 
ing the  authority  of  Rome  by  violent  assaults.  One  of 
these  is  described  by  Doctor  Pyper  as  that  of  "  the  modern 
devotion,"  expressing  the  feelings  of  the  Dutch  mystics  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  The  existence  of  such  a  tendency 
was  wholly  unknown  to  the  students  of  the  Dutch  Refor- 
mation, till  it  was  miraculously  discovered  on  April  12, 
1896,  at  the  breaking  down  of  an  old  church-tower,  at 
Boskoop,  in  the  Netherlands.  Five  books  were  there 
found,  immured  in  a  small  hollow  place  in  the  wall, 
twelve  meters  above  the  ground,  where  they  had  lain 
hidden  for  three  centuries.  Three  of  these  books  were 
dated  1566;  one,  1554;  another  possibly,  1540.  They  were 
all  books  that  had  been  placed  on  the  Index.  Did  a 
mason  place  them  there  for  fear  of  detection,  hoping  later 
to  get  them  again? 

One  of  these  was  the  rare  book  "  Of  the  Faith,"  ^t 
whose  author  occupies  a  middle  ground  between  the 

2«  B.  R.  N.,  I,  395. 
*'  Van  den  Ghelooue, 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    13 

Catholic  and  Protestant  Churches,  and  exhibits  the  mys- 
tical tendency,  above  indicated.^* 

Hendrik  Roll,  in  his  "  Key  to  the  Secret  of  the  Sup- 
per," ^^  exhibits  another  of  these  tendencies.  Doctor 
Cramer  has  clearly  established  the  authorship  of  this 
work  in  a  masterly  introduction. 

This  man  Roll  was,  together  with  Rottman,  the  spiritual 
leader  of  the  original  Miinster  Reformation,  before  it 
was  dominated  by  the  Anabaptists  under  John  of  Leyden. 
A  converted  Roman  Catholic  priest,  he  ultimately  died 
a  martyr's  death,  in  September,  1534.  Doctor  Cramer 
places  the  date  of  this  book  between  1531  and  1533.  If 
the  book  really  be  Roll's,  we  have  here  a  product  of  the 
earliest  sober  Anabaptist  tendencies  in  the  Lowlands,  as 
different  from  the  ideas  of  the  later  Hoffmanites  as  the 
day  is  different  from  the  night.  In  the  Supper  he  finds 
"  a  commemoration  of  our  joyful  redemption  from  sin, 
death,  and  hell,  granted  us  by  God."  The  external  cere- 
mony is  only  an  occasion  or  opportunity  to  express  the 
feeling  within.  The  spirit  and  the  heart  must  eat  and 
not  the  mouth  only.^^ 

To  this  category  of  writings  belong  also  "  The  Refuta- 
tion of  the  Salve  Regina  "  ^^  against  Mary-worship,  pre- 
sumably written  in  Dutch  by  an  unknown  author ;  Pupper 
van  Goch's  De  Libertate  Christiana  (of  which  only  two 
copies  are  known  to  remain)  which  attacks  the  Roman 
Catholic  system  of  faith  to  its  deepest  foundations;  the 
"  Layman's  Guide  "  ^^  of  Joannes  Anastasius ;  and  finally 
"  The   Gospel   of  the   Poor,"  ^^   by    Cornelis   Cooltuyn. 

28  B.  R.  N.,  IV,  524-592. 

^  Die  Slotel  van  het  Secreet  des  Nachtmaels. 

•^  B.  R.  N.,  V,  23. 

'^^  De  Reftitacy  van't  Salue  Regina. 

^2  Leeken  Wechwyser. 

'^^  Dat  Euangeli  der  Armen. 


14  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Every  one  of  these  rare  volumes  is  found  among  the  re- 
prints in  the  Bibliotheca. 

How  great  was  the  unrest  in  the  Church  is  plain  from 
the  fact  that  numerous  priests,  in  the  Dutch  Church,  were 
preaching  against  the  old  doctrine  and  advocating  the 
new;  men  like  Veluanus,  mentioned  above,  Angelus 
Merula,  Cornelis  van  der  Heyden,  and  others,  all  of  them 
in  priestly  orders,  yet  boldly  attempting  to  spread  the 
new  faith  through  their  preaching.  Some  of  them  sided 
with  the  Lutherans,  some  with  the  first  faint  beginning 
of  the  Calvinistic  propaganda.  Veluanus  bitterly  opposed 
the  nascent  Anabaptist  tendency,  whose  leaders  he  accuses 
of  cowardice  and  selfishness,  in  "  that  they  do  not  them- 
selves stand  before  kings  and  princes,  as  did  the  prophets 
and  apostles,  but  they  lead  their  disciples  miserably  to 
death  and  usually  remain  free  themselves,"  ^* 

The  entire  literature  of  the  pre-Reformation  period 
evidences  the  wide-spread  unrest  which  prevailed  every- 
where. 

Even  in  the  very  presence  of  the  young  emperor, 
Charles  V,  the  finger  of  scorn  was  pointed  at  Rome. 
In  an  address  from  the  German  nobility  to  the  newly 
crowned  emperor,  in  1519,  Jacobus  Sabius  informed  him 
of  the  true  state  of  things  and  of  the  unsafe  condition  of 
affairs.  Said  he,  "  The  only  aim  of  Pope  Julius  II  is  to 
enrich  the  Church  of  Rome,  by  injustice,  by  the  sword,  by 
killing  in  battle,  and  by  the  destruction  of  believing  Chris- 
tians." The  insatiable  rapacity  of  the  papacy  is  held  up  to 
scorn,  as  is  the  needless  humiliation  of  the  emperor  who, 
when  in  the  presence  of  his  holiness,  is  compelled  to  act 
as  an  equerry  by  holding  his  stirrup ;  whilst  the  unspeak- 
able nepotism  of  the  Curia  is  depicted  in  flaming  temis.^'* 

^  B.  R.  N.,  IV,  333. 
»6B.  R.  N.,  IX,  S19  p. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS     15 

But  it  was  no  easy  matter  for  really  devout  people  to 
break  away  from  the  old  faith  and  the  old  customs,  and 
many  a  heart-break  was  thus  occasioned. 

Micronius,  in  his  book  "  On  the  Supper  of  Qirist  and 
of  the  Mass,"  ^^  tells  a  touching  story.    Says  he :  ^^ 

And  when  the  Christian  prince  Eduardus  VI,  king  of  England, 
purified  his  Church  of  the  Romish  idolatry,  according  to  the 
command  of  God,  it  happened  that  a  man  of  the  royal  com- 
missioners desired  that  they  would  not  expell  all  images  from 
the  churches  of  his  parochy,  but  that  they  would  leave  them  an 
image  of  Mary,  or  at  least  a  crucifix,  before  which  he  was  ac- 
customed to  pray.  The  man  being  asked,  if  it  happened  that 
the  aforesaid  images  were  taken  away,  what  then?  answered, 
Then  I  would  pour  out  my  prayers  before  the  sacrament.  But, 
they  said,  If  that  also  were  taken  away,  what  would  you  do 
then?  I  would,  he  answered,  then  be  compelled  with  my  heart 
to  call  upon  God  in  heaven. 

It  is  true  the  Reformation  arose  in  part  from  social  and 
economic  conditions,  but  beneath  and  beyond  these  lay 
a  spiritual  hunger  and  unrest,  which  bespeaks  itself  in  all 
the  religious  literature  of  the  period.  Doctor  Pyper  says 
correctly  of  the  reprints  of  all  these  hoary  documents, 
"  What  is  here  produced  by  noble-minded  leaders  contains 
both  the  justification  and  explanation  of  the  revolution, 
which  partisanship  only  can  consider  as  being  caused  by 
wilfulness  or  sinful  passion."  ^^ 

The  dawn  of  the  Reformation  nowhere  revealed  itself 
more  clearly  than  in  the  Lowlands.  People  everywhere 
were  searching  for  the  light  and  were  longing  for  the 
coming  of  the  expected  thing,  though  they  knew  not  the 
way  or  the  form  of  its  coming.  The  soil  lay  fallow  for 
the  sower,  and  in  that  soil,  after  the  Lutheran  reformatory 

'*   Van  het  Nachtmael  Christi  en  van  de  Misse. 
"^  B.  R.  N.,  I.  485. 
»«B.  R.  N.,  X,  3. 


16  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

wave  had  passed  over  the  Netherlands  and  had  broken 
itself  into  spume  on  the  rocks  of  a  furious  persecution, 
the  Anabaptists  sowed  their  seed,  from  which  they  reaped 
an  unexpectedly  rich  harvest. 

3.  Were  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  Waldenses? 

An  interesting  question,  but  one  not  easily  answered. 

The  theory  of  the  Waldensian  origin  of  the  Dutch 
Anabaptists  is  of  late  origin.  There  is  not  a  trace  of  it 
in  the  early  Anabaptist  writings.  Its  beginnings  hide 
themselves  in  those  dreary  days,  when  the  rebellious  Ana- 
baptists and  the  peaceful  Baptists  (Doopsgesinden)  were 
identified  by  all  men.  How  many  hundreds,  aye  thou- 
sands, of  true  children  of  God  were  hounded  to  their 
death,  because  everywhere  and  by  all  men  they  were 
believed  to  be  one  with  those  detestable  and  deluded  peo- 
ple, who  figured  in  the  Miinster  tragedy ! 

It  was  only  when  there  arose  a  sharp  antagonism 
against  this  persistent  identification,  that  the  theory  of 
their  Waldensian  origin  was  born.  Nor  was  it  a  hope- 
less misfit.  The  Waldenses  had  been  scattered  all  over 
Europe,  and  their  descendants  lay  hidden  in  the  Romish 
Church. 

In  the  main,  that  faith  was  singularly  like  that  of  the 
reorganized  Anabaptists.  No  regular  priesthood,  great 
simplicity  of  worship,  no  bearing  of  arms,  no  oath,  but 
simple  affirmation,  separation  between  Church  and  State, 
and  rebaptism  of  those  who  joined  them  from  the  old 
Church.  These  are  the  characteristics  that  are  mentioned 
by  all  who  favor  the  Waldensian  descent  of  the  Anabap- 
tists. Two  things,  however,  are  forgotten  here.  The  first 
is  that,  after  all,  there  was  a  marked  diflference  in  regard 
to  baptism.  True  enough,  the  Waldensians  rebaptized  all 
who  came  to  them  from  Rome,  but  they  also  maintained 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    17 

infant  baptism;  and  baptism  was  the  cardinal  article  of 
faith  in  Anabaptist  doctrine,  that  is  to  say,  adult  baptism, 
based  on  the  confessed  faith  of  the  candidate.  More- 
over, they  had  entirely  different  ideas  as  to  the  place  of 
women  in  the  church.  The  Anabaptists  did  not  suffer  a 
woman  to  speak  in  their  meetings,  nor  had  they  a  vote 
in  the  election  of  elders  and  deacons.  Of  the  Walden- 
sians  we  are  told,  "  They  teach  that  every  layman  and 
even  a  woman  must  preach."  ^®  At  least  as  Luther  knew 
them  and  befriended  them,  they  largely  differed  from  the 
Anabaptists  of  his  day,  to  whom  he  was  bitterly  opposed. 

And  in  the  second  place  this  similarity  of  views  and 
practise  applies  quite  generally  to  all  the  medieval  sec- 
taries. We  find  them  among  the  Arnoldists,  the  Petro- 
brusians,  the  Catharistic  sects,  etc. 

Similar  causes  apparently  everywhere  led  to  similar  ef- 
fects. From  which  men  like  Doctor  Benedict,  in  his 
remarkable  history  of  the  Baptists,  have  argued  to  an 
apostolic  succession  of  sectarian  life  in  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church,  dating  back  to  the  apostolic  age.  That  view 
now  has  been  quite  generally  abandoned,  and  the  Baptists 
of  the  world  proudly  point  back  to  1641  as  the  year  in 
which  their  history  began,  as  a  denomination,  based  on 
adult  baptism  by  immersion,  on  a  declaration  of  personal 
faith  in  Christ. 

Ypey  and  Dermout,  in  their  history  of  the  State  Church 
of  Holland,  strongly  express  their  faith  in  the  Walden- 
sian  origin  of  the  Mennonites.  ***  But  here  they  only 
follow  Schyn's  argument,  far  more  fully  and  laboriously 
extended  than  theirs.  *^  Tileman  Jans  Van  Bracht,  in  his 
"  Mirror  of  the  Mennonite  Martyrs,"  *^  tells  us  explicitly, 

""Robertson,  Eccl.  Res.,  462,  quoting  an  old  Italian  historian,  Discunt 
quod  omnis  laicus  et  etiam  femina  debeat  praedicare. 

^  Gesch.  der  H.  K.,  I,  137,  Note  (loi),  *^  Uitvoeriger  Verk.,  2-50. 

**  Martelaarsspiegel  der  Doopsgezinden. 

B 


18  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

"  It  will  be  well  for  us  to  remember  that  the  martyrs, 
whom  we  will  consider,  were  of  the  profession  of  the 
Waldenses."  *^  Rues,  a  German,  who  in  the  seventeenth 
century  came  to  Holland  to  study  the  Mennonites,  evi- 
dently follows  the  lead  of  the  day,**  and  also  identifies  the 
objects  of  his  research  with  the  Waldenses.  Otius  has 
the  same  opinion  in  his  Annales  Anabaptistici.^^  Van 
Huyzen,  a  Mennonite  preacher  of  note,  joins  all  these  wit- 
nesses.** 

But  all  this  testimony  belongs  to  one  period,  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries.  The  shudder  of  Miinster 
was  still  in  the  air,  and  men  did  not  apprehend  that  two 
wholly  dissimilar  stems  might  spring  from  the  same  root. 
As  the  distance  from  Munster  grows,  men  begin  to  have 
larger  and  broader  views,  and  the  theory  of  the  Walden- 
sian  origin  of  the  Anabaptists  begins  to  lose  its  grip. 

Dr.  A.  M.  Cramer,  who  wrote  an  informing  life  of 
Menno  Simons,  and  especially  his  illustrious  son,  Dr.  S. 
Cramer,  have  greater  critical  insight  and  a  better  adjusted 
historical  balance,  and  they  find  a  lack  of  connecting 
points.  Here,  as  so  often  elsewhere,  post  hoCj  ergo  prop- 
ter hoc  is  a,  dangerous  historical  expedient. 

Dr.  A.  M.  Cramer  discusses  the  early  Anabaptist  mar- 
tyrdoms of  1527,  and  says :  *^ 

It  may  be  that  there  were  Waldensian  sentiments  among  the 
Roman  Catholics  in  Holland,  but  no  real  Waldenses.  At  least 
I  do  not  find  that  shortly  before  or  in  the  times  of  the  Refor- 
mation, traces  of  them  occur  in  this  country. 

The  martyrs  never  even  under  torture  mention  the 
name,   nor  is  the  question  ever  asked.     And   Menno 

^l,  395.  *^Teg.  Staet.  2  p. 

^  Ann.  Anah.,  3,  4.  ' 

**  Hist.  Verhatt deling,  38. 
*"*  Lev.  en  Verr.,   11. 


originUnd  early  developments   19 

Simons  himself  thought  that  the  special  views  which  he 
advanced,  overclouded  since  the  days  of  the  apostles, 
only  recently  had  come  to  light  again.*^ 
Says  Dr.  A.  M.  Cramer :« 

The  sources  of  information  are  very  insufficient.  We  know 
practically  nothing  with  certainty  of  the  existence  and  extent 
of  the  Waldenses  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  The  two 
lines  seem  to  run  into  one,  but  the  very  center,  where  they 
ought  to  touch,  is  invisible. 

He  then  reminds  us  of  the  milder  views  of  the  Waldenses 
in  regard  to  the  ban,  and  that  they  had  retained  quite  a 
remnant  of  Roman  Catholicism.  They  believed  in  the 
distinction  between  common  and  perfect  Christians ;  some 
of  them  revered  Mary,  and  they  baptized  children  as  well 
as  adults. 

And  yet,  even  for  this  accomplished  scholar,  the  subject 
holds  a  certain  fascination.  For  after  he  has  proved  its- 
improbability,  he  quotes  the  statement  of  Van  Bracht  that 
Hans  Koch,  Leonard  Meister,  Michael  Sattler,  and  Leon-  ^ 
ard  Keizer  were  all  descendants  of  the  Waldenses  and 
known  as  such.  And  they  were  one  and  all  Anabaptist 
martyrs.  All  this  we  have  to  accept  on  the  unsupported 
testimony  of  Van  Bracht,  for  in  their  trials  not  a  word 
is  said  of  the  matter.  And  even  if  his  testimony  were 
reliable,  nothing  is  gained,  for  the  men  mentioned  were 
not  the  only  or  chief  leaders  of  the  Swiss  Anabaptists, 
from  which  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  in  the  main  derived 
their  existence. 

Dr.  A.  M.  Cramer  concludes  therefore  that  "  they  de- 
scended from  the  Waldenses,  but  were  not  identical  with 
them.  They  received  their  origin  from  them,  but  further 
they  developed  independently."  ^^ 

«M.  5".  Werken,  443,         *»  Lev.  en  Verr.,  9.         WLev.  en  Verr.,  z». 


20  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

There  is  not  a  scintilla  of  proof  for  the  whole  Walden- 
sian  theory.  The  Dutch  Anabaptists  were  but  a  scattered 
small  band  before  1531,  when  the  fanaticism  of  the  Miin- 
ster  spirit  began  to  spread  like  wild-fire.  And  in  this 
large  and  sudden  accession  to  their  numbers,  the  foun- 
dations were  laid  for  the  reformatory  and  organizing 
efforts  of  Menno  Simons,  after  1535,  when  the  Anabap- 
tists were  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd. 

The  statement  of  Schyn  ^^ — "  For  one  finds  scarcely 
a  country  in  which  this  communion  (Gesindte)  is  not 
found.  These  men  at  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation 
have  started  to  reassemble  their  remnants,  scattered  every- 
where, of  which  some  have  accepted  Menno  Simons  as 
their  teacher  and  minister  " — is  wholly  gratuitous  and 
incompatible  with  historical  facts.  The  tie  between 
Menno  and  the  founders  of  the  Miinster  party  cannot  be 
broken.  Through  the  Philips  brothers,  he  owed  his  bap- 
tism and  ordination  to  John  Matthysz,  the  "  prophet 
Enoch  "  of  Miinster.  Menno  oi>enly  recognizes  in  some 
of  the  Miinster  party  his  "  dear  brethren,"  and  with  that 
party  he  was  indissolubly  linked  up.  But  by  the  grace 
of  God,  he  made  of  the  Anabaptists  {Wederdoopers) 
Baptists  {Doopsgezinden) ,  and  he  changed  the  lion  into 
a  lamb. 

Says  Dr.  S.  Cramer :  ^^ 

One  often  meets  the  statement  that  the  origin  of  the  Ana- 
baptists, among  other  things,  has  to  be  explained  as  the  after- 
math of  the  devotees  of  the  fifteenth  century  and  even  of  the 
earlier  mystics.  This  explanation  is  more  or  less  feasible.  But 
I  would  like  to  have  a  single  proof  of  its  correctness,  a  single 
clear  trace  of  this  connection,  e.  g.,  the  name  of  a  "devotee" 
author  or  writing,  which  is  quoted  by  one  of  the  earliest  Ana- 
baptists. 

^  Gesch.  der  Menn.,  7. 
"B.  R.  N.,  V,  36. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    21 

We  will  therefore  set  the  theory  aside  and  proceed  on 
the  supposition  that  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  have  a  Ger- 
man-Swiss origin. 

4.  General  Social  Conditions 

Feudalism  had  received  its  death-blow  during  the  Cru- 
sades. Under  it  there  were  only  three  classes  in  society, 
the  king  and  nobles,  the  clergy,  and  the  serfs.  During 
this  period  free  cities  began  to  rise  everywhere,  especially 
in  the  Lowlands.  They  stood  under  the  immediate  pro- 
tection of  the  sovereign,  from  whom  they  derived  their 
liberty  and  privileges.  Thus  a  fourth  estate,  the  bour- 
geoisie, was  lifting  its  head.  The  burghers  were  mostly 
interested  in  trade  and  manufacture,  and  the  manufactur- 
ing interests  everywhere  were  strongly  linked  together  by 
guilds,  which  clamored  for  and  obtained  recognition  in 
the  government  of  the  cities.  But  on  every  hand  the 
craftsman  and  the  trader  were  met  by  the  unfair  excise 
laws  of  the  realm.  Taxes  were  unevenly  distributed. 
The  nobility  and  the  clergy,  even  the  wealthy  manufactur- 
ing interests  of  the  monastic  orders  were  tax-free,  and  the 
regular  or  secular  producer  was  thus  placed  in  an  un- 
favorable position.  The  inevitable  result  was  an  ever- 
growing distrust  of  the  Church  and  her  authority,  among 
the  middle  class.  Compulsory  sales  of  indulgences  and 
grinding  taxes  burdened  the  people  beyond  endurance. 
So  cruel  were  the  exactions  and  oppressions  of  the  Church 
in  the  matter  of  marriage,  baptism,  burial,  the  first  ap- 
pearance in  the  church  of  lying-in  women,  etc.,  that 
Charles  V  was  compelled,  in  1528,  to  repeat  the  special 
warnings  issued  by  Pope  Callixtus  III  in  1426,  and  to 
issue  a  decree  by  which  a  definite  tariff  was  set  up,  which 
no  priests  dare  to  exceed,  on  pain  of  severe  fines  and 
punishment.    In  the  preamble,  the  emperor  definitely  con- 


22  '  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

nects  these  abuses  with  "  the  disorders  which  have  arisen 
and  are  still  regnant  in  some  places."  ^^ 

Celibacy  was  everywhere  openly  affronted.  Erasmus, 
the  Philips  brothers,  and  perhaps  Menno  Simons  himself 
were  all  sons  of  priests.  The  testimony  of  Lagarde,  in 
his  "Latin  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages"  (Ch.  XI),  in 
regard  to  the  hopeless  failure  of  the  decree  of  celibacy, 
especially  as  regards  the  North  of  Europe,  is  fully  cor- 
roborated by  that  of  Anastasius  Veluanus,  in  his  "  Lay- 
man's Guide."  In  harsh,  unpitying  terms  he  castigates 
the  clergy  of  his  day  for  their  gross  immorality,  and 
points  to  a  married  clergy  as  the  only  way  of  escape  from 
an  intolerably  hideous  situation/'* 

The  respect  for  the  Church  and  her  institutions  was 
fast  waning.  As  early  as  1329,  the  citizens  of  Frankfort- 
on-the-Oder  had  rebelled  against  the  Church,  because 
they  wanted  to  remain  loyal  to  Margrave  Louis,  who 
had  incurred  her  wrath.  Of  course  they  were  put  under 
the  ban,  but  they  scorned  it.  For  twenty-eight  years  they 
lived  without  mass,  baptism,  marriage-ceremony,  or 
funeral  rites.  And  when  the  baffled  ecclesiastics  finally 
voluntarily  returned,  they  were  met  with  jeers  and  laugh- 
ter, as  if  the  whole  thing  had  been  a  comedy  or  farce.^^ 

The  horrors  of  the  iconoclastic  disturbances  in  Flanders 
and  Holland,  in  the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
could  never  have  arisen,  unless  the  reverence  of  the  com- 
mon people  for  the  Church  and  her  power  had  been 
hopelessly  undennined. 

The  intelligence  of  the  masses  was  slowly  awakened. 
The  invention  of  the  printing-press  had  given  an  irresis- 
tible'impetus  to  this  awakening.  Every  one  wanted  to 
learn  to  read,  and  how  eagerly  these  studies  were  pursued 

"^B.  R.  N..  IX,  571  p.  ^'^M.  d'Aub.,  "Hist.  Ref.,"  I,  79- 

^B.  R.  N.,  IV,  252. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    23 

is  abundantly  proved  by  the  turbid  stream  of  books  which, 
in  the  late  fifteenth  and  early  sixteenth  centuries,  was 
pouring  from  the  presses.  It  made  the  Revival  of  Letters 
possible  and  the  Reformation  inevitable.  And  what  was 
the  attitude  of  the  Church  to  it  ? 

It  was  deeply  felt  that  the  printing-press  was  really 
responsible  for  the  marvelous  spread  of  the  new  heresy. 
And  who  can  doubt  the  truth  of  the  contention? 

Thus  this  consciousness  is  bitterly  lampooned,  in  one 
of  the  documents  in  the  Bibliotheca.  It  is  entitled  Con- 
ciliabulum  Theologistarum.  At  this  supjx)sed  meeting, 
all  the  opponents  of  the  Reformation  are  present,  and 
Van  Hoogstraten,  the  notorious  inquisitor,  presides.  Says 
the  latter,  "  What  do  you  think  of  these  new  poets  and 
of  their  novelties,  which  now,  through  the  impressory 
art,  yea  a  devilish  art,  are  printed  ?  "  ^^  How  close  the 
lampoonist  hit  to  the  mark  appears  from  the  true  words 
of  the  same  man,  "  that  he  desired  the  institution  of  a 
book-censure,  and  that  he  would  not  hesitate  wholly  to 
crush  the  development  of  Humanism."  ^^  All  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  Reformation  have  recognized  the  intimate 
connection  between  the  invention  of  the  printing-press 
and  the  new  movement.  They  considered  the  ars  im- 
press aria  in  very  deed  as  an  ars  didbolica,  an  invention 
of  the  devil,  for  this  peculiar  crisis. 

They  took  Van  Hoogstraten's  advice  and  created  an 
Index  Lihrorum  Prohibitorum,  under  the  operation  of 
which  all  forbidden  books  were  weeded  out  with  sedulous 
care.  How  successful,  or  nearly  successful  they  were, 
these  ten  volumes  of  the  Bibliotheca  mutely  witness. 

But  the  social  conditions,  prevailing  before  and  at  the 

^  B.  R.  N.,  Ill,  386.  Quid  vohis  videtur  de  Hits  novis  poetls  et  de  Hits 
nozntatibus,  quae  jam  per  artem  impressoriam,  into  diabolicatn,  impri' 
mantur. 

"  B.  R.  N.,  Ill,  388. 


24  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

time  of  the  Reformation,  pressed  hardest  on  the  peasant 
class,  the  so-called  serfs.    Says  Vedder :  °* 

The  peasants  were  in  most  desperate  case.  The  recent  sharp 
advances  in  prices  and  the  consequent  increase  in  their  rents  and 
the  growing  exactions  of  their  lords  had  made  their  condition 
intolerable.  They  felt  most  keenly  of  all  the  economic  crisis, 
through  which  the  nation  was  passing ;  the  pressure  of  which  was 
the  real,  though  ill  apprehended,  cause  of  the  revolt  against 
Rome. 

I  would  rather  consider  the  sufferings  of  the  peasant 
class  as  a  contributory  cause  of  the  revolt  than  as  its 
"  real  "  cause.  As  has  been  said  before,  the  literature  of 
the  period  forbids  us  to  consider  it  as  such.  But  the 
condition  of  this  stratum  of  society  was  deeply  deplorable, 
ground  as  they  were  under  the  heels  of  their  masters 
and  drained  of  the  last  coppers  they  possessed,  by  the 
greed  of  the  Church. 

Up  to  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  their  con- 
dition was  tolerable.  They  were  fairly  well  housed  and 
fairly  well  clad.  They  had  a  commons  for  their  cattle, 
hogs,  and  sheep.  The  forest  was  open  to  them  for  wind- 
falls and  for  mast  for  their  swine.  Their  treatment  was 
considerate,  and  they  paid  reasonably,  and  always  in  kind, 
for  their  master's  support.  Then  came  the  change  from 
the  Salic  to  the  Roman  law.  The  first  was  the  outgrowth 
of  the  national  life ;  the  latter  a  foreign  importation,  wel- 
comed by  the  nobility  and  the  clergy  for  what  it  promised, 
hated  by  the  common  people  for  what  it  threatened. 
And  then  the  storm  soon  broke. 

The  commons  were  taken  from  the  people  by  the 
nobles,  the  forests  were  closed  against  them,  the  "  small 
hunt "  and  the  "  small  fishery  "  were  forbidden,  under 

^  "  The  Reformation  in  (Sermany,"  235. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    25 

heavy  penalties;  their  taxes  henceforth  must  be  paid  in 
money,  of  which  they  had  practically  none.  They  were 
bitterly  impoverished  and,  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation, 
their  condition  had  become  well-nigh  insupportable. 
"The  Layman's  Guide"  (Leeken  Wechwyser),  in  talk- 
ing about  fasts,  has  this  to  say :  ^® 

The  third  way  of  fasting,  pleasing  to  God,  is  to  be  patient 
and  contented  with  such  food  as  God  pleases  to  give  us,  to  be 
jealous  of  no  one's  abundance,  and  never  to  murmur  against 
God's  will,  because  no  richer  food  is  given  us.  In  such  a  way 
it  is  that  the  whole  existence  of  poor  peasants  and  of  laborers 
in  the  cities  is  a  noble,  holy  fasting,  to  which  no  fasting  of 
monks  or  Beguines  can  be  compared. 

But  soon  the  rumbling  of  the  coming  storm  was  heard 
in  the  distance.  As  early  as  1502  a  conspiracy  was  made 
against  the  bishop  of  Spires.  The  last  despairing  hold 
of  these  poor  suffering  underlings  of  society  was  the 
Mother  of  God.  A  secret  society  was  formed  in  Ger- 
many, called  the  Liga  Salutaria,  whose  password  was 
"  Mary."  In  Baden  and  Wurtemberg  a  peasant  associa- 
tion was  formed,  called  Der  Arme  Conrad.  ^^  In  the 
Rhenish  provinces,  the  peasants,  in  1502,  formed  a  League 
of  the  Shoes,  whose  standard  was  a  peasant's  shoe  on  a 
pole.  They  swore  in  the  future  to  pay  no  taxes  but  such 
as  they  had  freely  consented  to,  to  abolish  all  tolls  and 
lordly  duties  on  wine  sold  at  retail  {jalage),  and  to  limit 
the  power  of  the  Church. 

On  such  a  horizon  the  weird  figure  appears  of  Thomas 
Miinzer,  and  these  conditions  explain  his  momentary  suc- 
cess. From  these  inflamed  masses  the  ranks  were  fed 
of  the  fanatics  of  Miinster ;  the  radical  Anabaptists,  whose 
tragic  doings  we  will  study  in  the  next  lecture. 

59  B.  R.  N.,  V.  303. 
«"3rons,  T.  oder  M.,  i, 


26  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Can  we  wonder  at  it  all  ? 

As  inevitable  as  fate,  as  sure  as  the  force  of  gravity, 
was  the  chain  of  events,  which  from  the  peasant  unrest 
led  to  the  Peasant  War  and  to  the  fatal  days  of  1535. 

5.  The  MUnzer  Revolution 

'  In  1521,  when  Luther  was  on  his  "  Patmos,'*  suddenly 
the  "  Zwickau  fanaticism  "  appeared  in  Wittenberg.  The 
churches  were  stripped  of  their  ornaments,  infant  bap- 
tism was  rejected,  nunneries  and  monasteries  were  opened 
and  the  occupants  dispersed,  and  radicalism  was  rampant 
in  Luther's  city.  Carlstadt,  Luther's  colleague  and  friend, 
was  completely  swept  off  his  feet,  and  even  Melanchthon 
was  affected  by  the  clamorings  of  the  fanatics.  Only 
Luther's  sudden  return  saved  the  day  at  Wittenberg. 

One  of  the  chief  leaders  of  the  Zwickau  fanatics  was 
Thomas  Miinzer,  and  not  a  few  historians  have  found  the 
origin  of  the  Anabaptist  movement  in  the  teachings  of 
this  man.  That  he  influenced  a  part  of  the  early  Ana- 
baptists cannot  be  denied;  that  he  tried  to  place  himself 
and  his  views  in  touch  with  the  Swiss  Anabaptist  leaders 
is  undeniable ;  that  he  failed  to  do  so  is  certain ;  that  the 
last  flickerings  of  his  red  torch  died  out  in  the  Miinster 
melodrama  is  sure.  But  the  cradle  of  the  Anabaptist 
movement  did  not  stand  at  Zwickau,  thank  God ;  its  origin 
was  Swiss,  not  German. 

A  strange  man  was  Thomas  Miinzer,  a  man  of  parts, 
but  also  of  lack  of  balance.  Moderns  would  classify  him 
as  a  paranoiac.  He  was  a  man  of  education,  a  fiery,  emo- 
tional, enthusiastic  preacher.  He  may  have  been  the 
anonymous  author  of  a  rare  little  work,  found  in  the 
Bihliotheca,  entitled  "  Of  the  Old  and  the  New  God."  «* 
He  exhibited  a  profoundly  mystical  tendency  when  he 

•1  Van  den  olden  ende  nieuwen  God. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    27 

was  priest  at  Zwickau,  a  people's  man  in  the  fullest  sense, 
and  the  special  favorite  of  the  cloth-weavers  guild.  The 
bitter  controversy  between  him  and  his  colleague,  Joh. 
Sylvanus,  led  to  the  exile  of  both.  His  own  removal 
was  hastened  by  an  insurrection  of  the  weavers,  men- 
tioned above,  for  which  he  may  have  been  responsible. 
He  denied  it,  but  during  his  pastorate  he  had  encouraged 
the  so-called  "  prophesyings  "  of  laymen.  In  this  circle, 
the  antagonism  against  infant  baptism  and  the  doctrine  of 
Anabaptism  arose,  in  1521,  against  which  Miinzer  orig- 
inally protested.  The  little  volume,  mentioned  above,  if 
Miinzer  be  its  author,  which  Doctor  Pyper  strongly  sur- 
mises, gives  us  a  clear  idea  of  his  views.  The  Scrip- 
tures are  to  be  realistically  interpreted.  He  justifies 
revolution  against  a  government  which  refuses  to  pro- 
mote the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  In  this  tract  we 
find  all  the  fundamental  ideas  of  the  Miinster  radicals. 
It  must  have  been  known  and  widely  read  by  them.  As 
late  as  1572  we  find  its  title  on  the  Index.®^  Munzer's 
influence  was  specially  felt  at  Alstedt,  Eisleben,  Mansfeld, 
Sangerhausen,  Frankenhausen,  Querfurt,  Halle,  Aschers- 
leben,  Nordhausen,  and  Miihlhausen,  where  he  died  by 
the  sword  in  1525.  The  signature  beneath  his  epistles 
indicates  his  character — "  Thomas  Miinzer,  with  the 
hammer,"  or  "  Thomas  Miinzer,  with  the  sword  of 
Gideon." 

Take  sentiments  like  these,  taken  at  random  from  his 
letters:  "When  they  (the  lords)  are  against  the  word 
of  God,  let  them  kill  them,  without  mercy  " ;  "  good  days 
agree  with  them,  the  sweat  of  the  laborers  tastes  sweet 
to  them,  but  it  will  become  bitter  gall.  No  hesitation  or 
sham-fight  will  help,  .  .  people  are  hungry,  they  will  and 
must  eat."     And  then  that  terrible  letter  to  the  miners 

<«B.  R.  N.,  I,  33. 


28  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

at  Mansfeld,  a  pure  piece  of  Bolshevism  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  Then  it  wore  religion  for  a  mask,  as  now  it 
wears  atheism.  But  the  face  behind  both  is  the  same. 
Listen : 

All  Germany  is  awake,  the  master  wants  to  make  a  spectacle 
of  it,  the  miscreants  must  perish.  .  .  Where  there  are  but  three 
of  you,  who  believe  in  God  and  seek  only  his  name  and  glory, 
you  will  not  be  afraid  of  a  hundred  thousand.  Now  at  them, 
at  them,  at  them  (dran,  dran,  dran),  it  is  time.  [These  words, 
dran,  dran,  dran,  are  repeated  again  and  again,  they  sound  like  a 
tocsin,  like  the  stroke  of  fate.]  Do  not  consider  the  misery  of 
the  godless;  they  will  beseech  you  so  kindly,  they  will  sob  and 
weep  like  children,  but  have  no  pity  on  them,  as  God  has  com- 
manded Moses.  .  .  You  must  dran,  dran,  dran,  it  is  time.  Let 
not  your  sword  grow  cold  of  blood,  beat  pinkepank  on  the  Nim- 
rod  of  Ambo,  throw  down  his  tower.  .  .  Dran,  dran,  dran,  while 
you  have  your  day.     God  goes  before  you,  follow  him. 

Do  we  wonder  at  the  horrors  of  the  Peasant  War  or 
at  those  of  Miinster?  They  were  hatched  in  this  crazy 
brain.  Fortunately  for  Germany,  his  head  fell,  under  the 
executioner's  axe,  on  the  bloody  field  on  Frankenhausen, 
May  15,  1525. 

6.  The  Swiss  Anabaptists 

From  the  beginning  there  was  among  the  Anabaptists 
a  left  wing  and  a  right  wing,  a  conservative  and  a  radical 
party.  In  1527,  Michael  Sattler  warned  his  people  against 
"  some,  who  prided  themselves  on  inspiration."  Three 
years  later,  in  1530,  Erasmus  wrote  about 

Anabaptist  people,  of  whom  they  say  that  there  are  many  in  their 
company,  who  have  been  converted  from  the  most  wicked  to 
the  best  life;  and  even  if  some  of  their  opinions  are  foolishly 
erroneous,  yet  they  never  stormed  cities  and  churches,  nor  have 
they  conspired  against  the  government,  nor  driven  any  one  from 
his  land  or  possessions. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    29 

Here  he  evidently  distinguished  between  such  Anabap- 
tists as  formed  the  Miinster  party  and  others  of  the  sect 
of  a  milder  type,  although  both  parties  were  identified 
by  his  contemporaries.  Only  after  the  reorganizing 
labors  of  Menno  Simons,  the  name  Baptist  (Doopsge- 
zinde)  appears  as  distinct  from  the  generic  name  of  the 
entire  movement,  Anabaptists,  although  their  opponents 
never  used  the  first  name,  only  the  second. 

The  revolutionaries,  alluded  to  by  Erasmus,  were  un-  ' 
doubtedly  the  followers  of  Miinzer,  or  the  Zwickau  lead- 
ers in  general,  who  prided  themselves  on  an  inner  light, 
rejected  infant  baptism,  and  preached  a  millennial  king- 
dom of  Christ,  in  which  believers  would  rule  the  world, 
lead  an  idyllic  life,  and  enjoy  social  equality  and  com- 
munistic wealth. 

Melanchthon  originally  was  deeply  impressed  by  these 
fanatics  and,  for  months,  entertained  Marc  Stiibner  in 
his  home,  and,  at  his  suggestion,  the  elector  promised 
these  "  prophets  "  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  provided 
they  kept  from  violence.  As  we  have  seen,  Carlstadt  was 
swept  away  completely  and  was  lost  to  the  Reformation. 

Protestant  historians  therefore  usually  date  the  Ana- 
baptist movement  from  1521,  although  Franck  tells  us 
that  Miinzer,  whilst  he  rejected  infant  baptism,  never 
rebaptized.®^ 

Luther  himself  was  originally  against  restrictive  mea- 
sures. As  late  as  1524  he  wrote,  "  the  office  of  the  word^ 
should  not  be  hindered  " ;  ^*  but  a  few  weeks  later  he  ad-  \ 
vised  the  nobles  to  "  slay  and  kill,"  when  the  revolution 
was  sweeping  Germany.  And  the  patient  Melanchthon, 
in  1531,  had  so  completely  changed  his  attitude  that  he 
declared  the  new  movement  to  be  "  a  devilish  sect,  against 

83  Chronicles,  III,  fol.  188. 

•*  Letter  to  the   elector,   August  24,    1524.     Man   moge  den  Ambt   des 
Wortes  nicht  wehren. 


30  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

whose  leaders  the  sharpest  punishments  should  be  ad- 
ministered." ^^ 

The  Swiss  Anabaptist  movement  stands  entirely  outside 
this  cycle.  It  had  for  its  leaders  men  like  Balthasar  Hiib- 
mayer,  chief  of  all  in  influence,  learning,  and  standing; 
Conrad  Grebel,  whom  Zwingli  called  "  the  coryphaeus  " 
of  the  movement,^^  regarded  by  his  opponents  as  the  most 
dangerous  of  all,  the  son  of  a  Ziirich  patrician  and  coun- 
cilor; Melchior  Rinck,  Johannes  Hut,  Johannes  Denk, 
Liidwig  Hatzer,  Felix  Manz,  Wilhelm  Roublin,  Johannes 
Brodlin,  and  Georg  von  Chur,  surnamed  "  Blaurock." 
All  of  these  had  considerable  standing  in  their  communi- 
ties, the  majority  were  men  in  orders,  and  all  of  them 
had  what  the  Germans  call  Bildung. 

Hiibmayer  had  studied  at  Freiburg  and  Ingolstadt  and 
was  a  disciple  of  John  Eck,  the  great  opponent  of  Luther. 
Eck  was  his  promoter  when  he  received  his  doctorate 
of  theology.  In  1515,  he  was  professor  and  preacher  at 
Ingolstadt;  in  1521,  he  w!as  priest  in  the  cathedral  at  Re- 
gensburg,  and  later  we  find  him  at  Waldshutt,  then  in 
Austrian  territory.  In  the  first  period  of  his  ministry 
he  was  intensely  Catholic  in  his  views,  a  Jew-baiter  and 
a  devout  worshiper  of  Mary.  At  Waldshutt  he  was  still 
an  ardent  churchman,  but  he  was  beginning  to  read  Paul's 
epistles  and  the  works  of  Luther.  In  this  period  he 
visited  Erasmus  at  Basel.  In  1523  he  met  Zwingli  at 
Ziirich.  Even  then  the  two  differed  on  the  subject  of 
baptism,  but  not  to  the  breaking-point.  He  was  now  fast 
turning  away  from  Rome  and  participated  in  the  religious 
debate  of  Zurich,  October  26-28,  1523.  Returning  to 
Waldshutt,  he  began  to  preach  reformatory  doctrines,  and 


^  Eine  teuHtche  Secte,  und  gegen  ihre  FUrhrer  miisse  man  die  schdrf' 
iten  Strafe  zur  Anwendung  bringen. 

*  Newman,  "Hist,  of  Antiped.,"  129, 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    31 

wrote  his  "  Eighteen  Decisive  Reasons  "^'  to  explain  his 
position.  Nothing  points  as  yet  to  his  later  Anabaptist 
views.  He  touches  on  justification  by  faith,  good  works, 
the  mass,  images,  the  invocation  of  saints,  the  true  minis- 
try, celibacy,  etc.  The  tract  is  dated  1524.  But  toward 
the  close  of  the  year  his  views  on  baptism  had  settled  into 
a  decided  antipedobaptist  tendency.  He  fully  agreed  on 
this  subject  with  Grebel  and  Manz,  and,  with  them,  in 
January,  1525,  held  a  public  debate  with  Zwingli  on  this 
subject.  Consequently  the  magistrates  of  Zurich  decided 
to  enforce  the  Church  laws  in  regard  to  infant  baptism. 
Grebel  and  Manz  were  ordered  to  cease  their  agitation; 
Wilhelm  Roublin,  the  priest  of  Wyttikon,  was  banished 
and  Hiibmayer  was  bundled  off  to  his  pastorate  at  Walds- 
hutt.    But  the  trouble  was  not  so  easily  settled. 

On  the  contrary,  the  opponents  of  Zwingli  passed  the » 
Rubicon,  and  in  a  private  house  at  ZoUikon,  near  Zurich,  \ 
on  February  7,  1525,  Manz  created  a  new  church,  by  in-    \ 
stituting  believer's   baptism  by  sprinkling.     Hiibmayer 
was  baptized  by  Roublin  a  few  weeks  later.    And  now 
began  the  last  brief  period  of  his  life,  as  an  active  propa- 
gandist for  Anabaptism,  which  led  to  his  martyrdom. 

Conrad  Grebel  belonged  to  the  highest  social  stratum 
of  the  city,  he  was  educated  at  Paris  and  brightly  intel- 
lectual. Felix  Manz  was  also  a  scion  of  the  patrician 
families  of  the  city,  had  studied  at  Basel,  specialized  in 
Hebrew,  and  was,  with  Grebel,  teaching  in  the  Academy 
of  Ziirich.  Wilhelm  Roublin  was  a  successful  priest,  thor- 
oughly educated,  and  gifted  as  a  popular  orator.  He 
preached  at  St.  Albans,  in  1521,  and  later  was  priest  at 
Wyttikon,  near  Ziirich.  He  was  an  advanced  reformer 
and  was  openly  married  as  early  as  1523.  In  a  public  pro- 
cession, he  carried  a  finely  bound  Bible  instead  of  the 

"^  Achtien  Sluitreden,  B.  R.  N.,  I,  121. 


32  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Venerabile,  crying  out  to  the  people,  "  Behold,  this  is  your 
Venerabile,  this  is  the  true  sancutary,  all  the  rest  is  but 
dust  and  ashes." 

Michael  Sattler  became  a  leader  of  the  Swiss  Anabap- 
tists, after  Manz  and  Grebel  had  died  a  martyr's  death. 
He  also  was  a  man  of  parts,  well  educated,  and  was  a 
monk  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Peter's,  in  the  Black  Forest. 
Joining  the  ranks  of  the  Anabaptists,  he  labored  zealously 
for  the  cause  in  Strassburg,  on  the  upper  Rhine  and  in 
Hessia. 

Such  were  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Swiss  Anabaptist 
movement.  They  baptized  by  affusion.  Dr.  De  Hoop 
Scheffer  quotes  the  Sabbata  of  J.  Kessler,  in  stating  their 
practise:  "There  (at  ZoUikon)  was  prepared  water  and, 
if  any  one  desired  rebaptism,  they  pour  a  dish  of  water  on 
his  head  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Ghost."  The  only  exception  he  had  been  able  to 
find  was  that  of  Wolffgang  Holiman, 

who  on  the  way  to  Schaffhausen,  met  Conrad  Grebel  and,  through 
him,  came  to  so  profound  a  recognition  of  the  need  of  rebap- 
tism, that  he  declined  to  be  simply  aspersed  with  a  dishful  of 
water,  but  was,  wholly  naked  and  bare,  immersed  and  covered 
in  the  Rhine  outside,  by  Grebel. 

All  this  is  quoted  from  the  Sabbata.  De  Hoop  Scheffer 
suggests  that  this  was  on  the  principle  of  Peter's  cry, 
"  Lord,  not  my  feet  only,  but  also  my  hands  and  my 
head."  «« 

The  general  mode  of  administering  baptism  was  that 
known  and  practised  in  Switzerland  at  that  time. 

Meanwhile  the  struggle  between  Zwingli  and  the  bold 
dissenters  waxed  hot.  The  ideals  of  the  new  movement 
were  wholly  foreign  to  the  plans  and  hopes  of  Zwingli. 

^  Oversicht  der  Geschiedenis,  140,  141. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    33 

He  wanted  to  form  a  strong  Protestant  State  Church; 
they  demanded  a  Church  absolutely  free  from  the  State. 
He  wanted  to  reform  the  old ;  they  wanted  to  build  some- 
thing wholly  new.  He  tolerated  all  who  had  been  mem- 
bers of  the  old  Church ;  they  wanted  a  Church  of  believers 
only.  A  compromise  between  views  so  manifestly  dis- 
similar was  from  the  start  impossible. 

But  they  were  free  from  revolution.  Grebel  could 
freely  write  from  his  prison  in  1524,  that  it  would  never 
be  found  that  he  had  ever  raised  rebellion,  or  had  taught 
or  spoken  anything,  which  could  lead  to  it.^^  Yes,  he 
had  corresponded  with  Miinzer,  but  this  is  what  he  had 
written  to  him :  ^^ 

The  brother  of  Hariisen  writes  that  thou  hast  preached  against 
the  princes,  that  they  ought  to  be  attacked  with  the  fist.  Is  this 
true?  Or  if  thou  desirest  to  instigate  war,  I  admonish  thee  to 
abstain  from  it  and  to  respect  the  property  of  all  now  and  here- 
after. 

Meanwhile  the  Anabaptists  were  steadily  increasing  in 
numbers  and  power.  All  efforts  to  bring  them  peacefully 
back  to  the  fold  of  the  Zwinglian  Church  failed;  they 
were  well  versed  in  the  Scriptures,  exceedingly  strict  in 
their  lives,  and  rigorous  in  their  church  discipline;  and 
yet  they  must  be  brought  back  in  peace,  if  possible,  other- 
wise by  persecution.  And  thus  was  written  that  dark 
page  in  the  history  of  Protestantism,  which  records  the 
treatment  of  the  Anabaptists  at  the  hands  of  their  breth- 
ren in  Switzerland  and  elsewhere.  It  makes  sad  and 
dreary  reading  for  us,  who  live  centuries  away  from  those 
opinionated  days  and  who  have  a  broader  outlook, 

«9  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  28. 

''"Idem.  29:  Bes  Hariisen  Bnider  schreiht  du  habest  wider  die  Fursten 
gepredigt,  doss  man  sie  mit  der  Faust  angreifen  solle.  1st  es  wahrf  Oder 
so  du  Krieg  schiiren  wollest,  so  ermahne  ich  dich,  vfollest  davon  absteken 
und  alter  Gut  achten  jetzt  und  hernach. 


34  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

By  1525,  the  Anabaptist  movement  had  become  a 
menace.  But  a  year  before,  in  February,  1524,  the 
magistrates  of  Ziirich  had  already  begun  to  arrest  Ana- 
baptists, among  whom  were  Grebel  and  Manz.  Then 
followed  punitive  edicts,  a  fine  of  a  silver  mark  for  re- 
baptizirig  or  being  rebaptized,  and  exile  for  those  who  did 
so  in  the  future.    All  in  vain ! 

As"  the  pressure  from  without  grew,  the  Anabaptist 
faith  expanded;  they  now  added  to  it  the  policy  of  non- 
resistance,  the  doctrine  that  no  Christian  could  be  a 
magistrate  or  office-holder  under  the  government,  and 
they  forbade  the  oath.''^ 

The  arrests  increased,  the  council  of  the  city  showed 
its  hand  more  plainly,  as  the  masses  of  the  people  every- 
where seemed  to  be  swayed  by  the  perfervid"  oratory  of 
the  Anabaptist  preachers.  It  was  openly  said,  "  In  three 
years  the  Anabaptists  will  have  the  majority  in  the  city." 
The  persecution  now  began  to  increase  in  vehemence,  as 
it  was  seen  that  it  was  a  war  to  the  death  between  two 
diametrically  different  faiths.  By  a  new  edict  every  one 
was  ordered  to  attend  his  parish  church,  and  all  were 
forbidden  to  harbor  or  entertain  any  Anabaptist  or  to 
give  them  either  bed  or  board.    The  effect  was  negligible. 

The  council,  now  fully  aroused,  arrested  Georg  von 
Chur  and  turned  their  attention  to  Manz,  who  was  in 
prison.  An  example  must  be  made,  and  Manz  was  chosen 
as  the  vicarious  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  party. 
To  the  amazement  of  all,  the  judges  condemned  Manz  to 
death.  Here  is  his  sentence,^^  and  strange  reading  it 
makes  nearly  four  hundred  years  later: 

Because  he  has  baptized,  against  Christian  regulations;  because 
it  was  found  impossible  to  bring  him  back  from  it,  through  any 

"•  Idem,   29. 
"  Idem,  34. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    35 

instruction  or  admonition;  because  he  has  planned  to  seek  yet 
others,  who  accepted  Christ,  believe  in  him  and  follow  him,  and 
to  unite  himself  with  some  by  baptism,  allowing  the  others  to 
remain  in  their  faith;  because  he  and  his  followers  have  thereby 
separated  themselves  from  the  Christian  congregation  and  have 
riotously  joined  themselves  together,  as  a  schism,  and  are  trying 
to  organize  themselves  as  a  self-made  sect,  under  the  appear- 
ance and  cover  of  a  Christian  congregation;  because  he  has 
rejected  capital  punishment  and  has  prided  himself  on  sure 
revelations  from  the  epistles  of  the  apostle  Paul,  for  the  sake 
of  a  larger  following;  because  such  doctrines  are  injurious  to 
the  general  custom  of  Christendom  and  lead  to  scandal,  tumult, 
and  rebellion  against  the  government,  to  the  disturbance  of  the 
universal  peace,  brotherly  love,  and  civic  unanimity,  and  to  all 
manner  of  evil. 

Therefore  Manz  shall  be  handed  over  to  the  executioner,  who 
will  bind  his  hands,  place  him  in  a  skiff,  bring  him  to  the  lower 
Hiittli,  move  his  bound  hands  over  his  knees,  and  push  a  stick 
between  his  knees  and  elbows,  and  will  thus  bound,  cast  him  into 
the  water,  and  let  him  die  and  corrupt  in  the  water,  and  that 
thus  he  shall  have  satisfied  justice  and  right.  And  his  goods  will 
be  confiscated  by  my  lords. 

And  this  terrible  sentence  was  executed,  to  the  everlasting 
shame  of  Ziirich  and  of  Zwingli,  who  might  have  stoppled 
it,  January  5,  1527,  whilst  Manz  on  his  way  to  death  was 
singing,  In  mantts  tuas,  domine,  commendo  spiritum 
meum.    The  carnival  of  death  now  began. 

Jacob  Grebel,  the  father  of  Conrad,  who  had  inter- 
ceeded  for  the  Anabaptists,  though  not  one  himself,  was 
beheaded.  His  son  Conrad,  weakened  by  imprisonment 
and  crushed  by  his  father's  shameful  death,  now  cheated 
the  executioner,  by  dying  in  prison.''^ 

And  yet  notwithstanding  the  growing  bitterness  of 
the  persecution,  the  Anabaptist  movement  continued  to 
spread  and  to  gain  in  volume.  Falk  and  Reiman  followed 
Manz  to  a  watery  grave. 

w  Idem,  38, 


36  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

By  an  edict  of  March  7,  1526,  the  government  of  Zurich 
decreed  that  "  every  one  who  baptized  another  would  be 
drowned  without  mercy." 

It  sounds  like  an  echo  of  the  cynical  motto,  ascribed  to 
Zwingli,  by  numerous  historians,  Qui  iterum  mergit,  mer- 
gatur. 

The  rider  attached  to  this  law  reminds  us  of  the  days 
of  the  Inquisition :  "  All  those,  who  have  recanted  from 
the  Anabaptist  faith,  and  then  fall  back  or  give  any 
succor  to  their  former  friends,  are  condemned  to  the 
same  death  by  drowning." 

The  diet  of  Spires,  in  1529,  made  the  extirpation  of  the 
Anabaptists  the  duty  of  the  empire,  involving  Catholics 
and  Protestants  alike.  No  trial  was  even  necessary  be- 
fore a  spiritual  judge.  The  mere  fact  that  one  was  an 
Anabaptist  was  in  itself  a  death-warrant."^*  In  the  Tyrol 
and  Gorz,  by  1531,  the  number  of  martyrs  exceeded  one 
thousand;  Sebastian  Franck,  a  year  earlier,  mentions 
double  the  number.  They  were  like  sheep  before  the 
slaughterer.  But  the  persecutions  were  unable  to  destroy 
them.  In  1562,  when  Henry  Bullinger  reedited  his  great 
work  against  the  Anabaptists,  written  thirty  years  before, 
they  were  yet  strong  enough,  even  in  Ziirich,  to  compel 
such  an  effort,  and  he  admits  that  their  influence  was  then 
felt,  even  in  the  council  of  the  city."^^ 

But  they  were  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  after  that 
first  fiery  persecution. 

The  following  touching  letter  '®  was  written  by  Hut  or 
Hutter  to  some  nobleman  who  had  befriended  them.  Ap- 
preciating the  fidelity  and  capacity  of  these  people  as 
laborers  in  their  fields,  they  had  given  them  shelter  and 
work: 

'*  Kurtz,  "  Ch.  Hist.,"  II.  389.  '«  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  46,  47. 

'=  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  269. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    37 

We  have  told  you,  they  say,  by  word  of  mouth  and  now  tell 
you  again  in  writing  that  we  have  forsaken  all  manner  of  godless 
life  and  have  consecrated  ourselves  unto  the  Lord,  to  live  accord- 
ing to  his  divine  will  and  to  keep  his  commandments.  And  for 
that  reason  we  are  persecuted  and  robbed  of  all  our  goods. 
Therefore  the  prince  of  darkness  has  caused  that  terrible  tyrant, 
Ferdinand,  that  enemy  of  the  divine  truth,  mercilessly  to  murder 
many  of  us,  to  rob  us  of  our  possessions,  and  to  drive  us  from 
home  and  garden  and  farm.  But  now  we  have  come  to  the  land 
of  Mahre  and  have  lived  here  for  a  while,  and  last  of  all  under 
the  marshal.  We  do  not  burden  any  man  and  have  sustained 
ourselves  by  hard  labor,  of  which  all  must  bear  us  witness. 
But  now  the  marshal  has  caused  us  to  be  driven  from  our  homes 
again  with  violence,  and  we  are  here  in  the  wilderness,  among 
the  wild  heather,  under  the  clear  sky.  .  .  Woe  and  woe  again 
to  all,  who  without  any  reason,  only  on  account  of  the  divine 
truth,  scatter  us!  God  will  require  the  innocent  blood  at  their 
hands.  .  .  God,  in  heaven,  grant  to  show  us  where  we  shall  go. 
We  cannot  permit  ourselves  to  be  forbidden  the  earth,  for  the 
earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fulness  thereof.  And  when  God 
shows  us  where  to  go  or  whether  to  stay  here,  we  will  follow  his 
will. 

This  letter  cost  Hutter  his  life,  for  Ferdinand  caused 
him  to  be  apprehended,  and  his  body  to  be  burned  at  the 
stake  at  Innsbruck,  in  1535,  after  he  had  been  killed  in 
an  attempt  to  escape  from  prison.  Thus  his  little  flock 
was  left  behind.  But  they  had  been  strongly  organized, 
after  a  purely  communistic  type,  which  greatly  reminds 
us  of  the  later  Shakers.  Only  during  the  second  half 
of  the  century  they  obtained  toleration,  but  they  stood  for- 
ever apart  from  the  other  Anabaptists,  and  called  them- 
selves "  Hutterites  "  after  their  founder. 

Hiibmayer  died  a  martyr,  by  fire,  at  Vienna,  March  30, 
1528.  A  year  before  Michael  Sattler  had  passed  away,  on 
May  21,  1527.  After  the  death  of  Manz  and  Grebel  he 
had  become  the  true  leader  of  the  Swiss  Anabaptists. 
His  death  was  specially  soul-harrowing.     The  farewell 


38  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

letter  to  his  congregation,  written  from  the  prison-tower 
at  Bintzdorp,  breathes  even  now  a  benediction  upon  us. 
Who  can  doubt  the  deep  piety  of  this  man?  How  ten- 
derly he  admonishes  his  people  to  fight  the  good  fight 
of  faith  to  the  end;  how  he  agonizes  for  their  spiritual 
well-being ;  with  what  tenderness  he  commits  to  them  his 
"  true  sister,"  his  wife,  if  he  be  sacrificed  unto  the  Lord ! 
He  closes  with  these  words :  "  L  wait  on  my  God ;  pray 
without  ceasing  for  all  captives;  God  be  with  you  all; 
Amen." 

His  martyrdom,  under  an  imperial  sentence,  was  dia- 
bolically cruel.    Of  what  was  he  accused?    Listen: 

1.  He  and  his  followers  have  acted  against  the  decrees 
of  the  emperor. 

2.  He  has  denied  that  the  sacrament  is  the  true  body 
and  blood  of  Christ. 

3.  He  rejects  infant  baptism. 

4.  Also  the  validity  of  the  sacrament  of  oil,  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  dying. 

5.  He  has  despised  and  rejected  the  Mother  of  God 
and  the  Saints. 

6.  He  rejects  the  oath. 

7.  He  has  introduced  a  new  and  unheard-of  way  of 
administering  the  Supper,  putting  the  bread  and  wine  in 
one  plate. 

8.  He  left  holy  orders  and  married  a  wife. 

9.  He  professed  unwillingness  to  war  against  the  Turks 
and,  if  war  were  right,  he  would  rather  fight  Christians 
than  Turks. 

Sattler  admitted  all  these  accusations — how  puerile  they 
seem  to  us  as  we  scan  the  list  today — only,  as  to  the 
last  point,  he  remarked  that  those  who  persecuted  the 
children  of  God  were  worse  than  Turks,  "seeing  they 
were  Turks  after  the  spirit." 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    39 

The  sentence  against  Sattler  was  a  frightful  one,  even 
for  that  day: 

Between  the  governor  K.  M.  and  M.  S.  it  has  been  deemed 
just  that  M.  S.  shall  be  handed  over  to  the  sheriff,  who  shall 
take  him  to  the  market-place  and  cut  out  his  tongue.  Thereupon 
he  shall  be  cast  on  a  cart  and,  then  and  there,  the  sheriff  shall 
twice  tear  his  body  with  a  red-hot  pincers,  and  thereafter,  as  he 
is  brought  before  the  gate,  in  the  same  way  five  times. 

This  being  done  [says  the  chronicle]  he  was  burnt  to  ashes  as 
a  heretic,  his  brethren  were  decapitated,  the  sisters  drowned. 
But  his  wife,  after  much  praying,  admonition,  and  threatening, 
was  also  drowned,  in  great  constancy,  not  many  days  after." 

Thus  died  the  man  who,  more  than  any  other  of  the 
Swiss  Anabaptists,  has  influenced  the  subsequent  history 
of  the  Dutch  Mennonites. 

All  the  prominent  leaders  of  the  Swiss  Anabaptists  had 
now  been  cut  off  by  the  persecution.  Manz  and  Grebel 
were  gone,  Simon  Stumpf  was  exiled,  Ludwig  Hatzer  had 
been  beheaded  at  Kostnitz  in  1529;  Hiibmayer  and  Sat- 
tler and  Denck  had  all  gone  to  their  reward. 

The  prospects  of  the  Anabaptists  in  Switzerland  and 
Austria  were  literally  stamped  out  in  blood;  the  sheep 
were  without  a  shepherd,  and  hundreds  of  them  preferred 
exile  and  a  foreign  home  to  the  hopeless  memories  of 
the  past  and  the  dreary  outlook  for  the  future. 

Can  we  wonder  that,  in  this  night  of  gloom,  the  star 
of  chiliastic  expectations  began  to  twinkle ;  that  what  little 
of  Miinzerism  had  found  lodgment  in  the  hearts  of  the 
Anabaptists  should  now;  assert  itself  in  a  violent  reac- 
tion against  the  unbearable  conditions  under  which  they 
lived?  By  1530,  the  fate  of  the  upper-German  Anabap- 
tists was  settled.  Torn  asunder,  scattered,  all  but  anni- 
hilated, the  surviving  brethren  led  a  pitiable  life.    In  re- 

'•^  B.  R.  N.,  V,  6so. 


40  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

mote  corners,  under  the  shadows  of  the  forest  and  in  the 
dead  of  night,  the  survivors  met  in  sad  conventicles  and, 
in  sorrowful  commemoration,  kept  alive  the  names  of 
those  who  had  died  for  the  common  cause.  Keller's  pic- 
ture of  these  conditions  is  very  vivid.*^® 

From  the  highlands  of  Central  Europe  the  waters  run 
down  in  every  direction,  and,  like  these  waters,  the  Ana- 
baptists spread,  from  this  common  center,  to  all  European 
lands.  But  the  great  bulk  of  the  exiles  came  down  the 
Rhine  and  the  Rhone  and  found  refuge  in  the  remote 
lands  of  Northern  Europe  and  especially  in  Northern 
Germany  and  the  Lowlands 

7.  The  Dawn  of  Anabaptism  in  Holland  and  its 
Swift  Spread 

Traces  of  Anabaptists  had  been  observed  there,  long 
before  the  Swiss  impulse  was  felt.  Zichenis  wrote,  in 
-1523,  and  it  is  evident  from  his  Sacrament orum  Brevis 
Elucidatio  that  by  that  time  the  Anabaptist  propaganda 
was  well  known  in  the  Netherlands,  or  at  least  that  the 
ideas,  which  became  fundamental  in  their  faith,  were  well 
known.''^ 

But  now  the  shores  of  the  North  German  ocean  and 
of  the  Baltic  became  the  veritable  breeding-grounds  of 
the  Anabaptist  movement.  The  people  grew  with  amazing 
rapidity.  It  seemed  as  if  the  lands  of  the  North  had  been 
waiting  for  their  coming.  Especially  the  mass  of  the 
common  people  "  heard  their  doctrine  gladly." 

They  grew  to  be  specially  numerous  in  Frisia,  Gronin- 
gen.  East  Frisia,  Gelderland,  Holland,  and  Brabant.  But 
the  entire  shore  of  the  Baltic,  as  far  as  Livonia,  soon  knew 
them;  and  they  found  special  harborage  in  cities  like 

''^  Geshichte  der  Wiedertdufer,  47. 
'»B.  R.  N.,  Ill,  295  P- 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    41 

Bremen,  Hamburg,  Liibeck,  Wismar,  Rostock,  Stral- 
sund,  etc. 

They  were  practically  everywhere  recognized  as  desira- 
ble citizens ;  quiet,  industrious,  obedient,  thrifty,  and  God- 
fearing— and  yet  they  were  hated.  The  fever  of  Miin- 
zerism  touched  only  a  comparatively  small  faction  of 
them,  and  the  bulk  of  the  Anabaptists  were  not  responsi- 
ble for  the  excesses  of  the  few.  And  yet,  strange  to  say, 
the  thought  of  discriminating  between  them  seems  never 
to  have  entered  the  mind  of  their  opponents.  The  rare 
volume,  "  Brotherly  Union,"  *^  is  perhaps  the  first  serious 
effort  ever  made  to  weld  the  mass  of  these  believers  in  a 
common  faith,  into  one  homogeneous  whole.  Of  this  old 
volume  only  one  copy  is  known  to  exist.  It  treats  of 
seven  articles,  which  had  been  adopted  by  the  Baden 
Anabaptists,  and  were  now  sent  by  the  brethren  who 
had  attended  the  convention  there,  to  all  fellow  believers 
as  a  circular  letter.  These  articles  touch  baptism,  the  ban, 
the  Supper,  the  ministry,  the  sword,  the  oath,  etc.®^  The 
date  is  probably  between  1550  and  1560.  But  the  funda- 
mental facts  go  much  further  back,  for  Sattler  died  in 
1527,  and  as  Sattler  had  written  down  these  principles, 
and  as  they  became  the  constitutional  foundation  of  the 
Sattler  group  of  Anabaptist  churches,  we  find  here  per- 
haps the  oldest  printed  Anabaptist  documents. 

Zwingli  knew  them  and  fought  them  in  his  In  Catabap- 
tistarum  Strophas  Elenchus.  Calvin  had  studied  them, 
because  in  1544  he  discussed  them,  in  detail,  in  his  Contre 
les  Erreurs  des  Anabaptistes.  Dr.  S.  Cramer  is  right  in 
calling  the  tract  "  the  fullest,  most  upright,  and  most  at- 
tractive self-confession  of  the  original  South-German 
Anabaptists."  ^^ 

^  Broederlicke  Vereeniginge. 

•1 B.  R.  N.,  V,  603.  82  B.  R.  N.,  V,  585. 


42  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

It  is  unquestionable  that  even  before  the  Miinster 
tragedy  the  conservatives  were  far  stronger  among  the 
Anabaptists  than  the  radicals. 

But,  as  has  been  said,  everywhere  the  good  were  iden- 
tified with  the  bad  and,  through  the  example  of  Switzer- 
land and  Germany,  both  were  considered  one  with  the 
followers  of  Thomas  Miinzer,  and  thus  they  shared  in  a 
common  persecution  and  denunciation. 

8.  They  Were  Universally  Hated 

Blaupot  ten  Gate  tells  us,  "  About  the  year  1534  sud- 
denly the  placards  against  the  Lutherans,  formerly  threat- 
ened, are  replaced  by  those  against  the  Anabaptists."  ^^ 
A  common  name  was  given  to  all  preachers  of  the  sect — 
Rotgeesten  ("Riotous  spirits").  For  the  tragedy  of 
Miinster  was  now  staged,  every  eye  was  turned  to  that 
doomed  city,  and  the  universal  hatred  against  the  Ana- 
baptists, of  whatever  type,  was  accentuated.  "  The  ana- 
thema of  the  ban,  pronounced  in  Holland  against  antago- 
nists of  priestly  privileges  before  the  Inquisition,  came 
with  sterner  measures."  ^*  Everywhere  voices  were  raised 
against  the  hated  sect,  and  such  of  them  as  were  exiles 
from  Switzerland  and  Germany  might  well  say,  "  One 
woe  is  passed  away,  and  lo,  another  cometh."  The  per- 
secution in  Holland  lasted  from  1530  till  1580,  Carel  van 
Ghent  tells  us.  It  actually  ceased  with  the  "  Pacification 
of  Ghent,"  November  8,  1576,  but  sporadic  cases  of 
martyrdom  occurred  close  up  to  the  time  mentioned  by 
the  author.  Thus  Reytse  Ayssens  was  burned  at  the 
stake  at  Leeu warden,  in  1574.^^  And  of  all  the  countless 
sacrifices  demanded  by  the  bigotry  of  Rome  and  Spain  of 

^  Gesch.  der  Doopsges.  in   Vriesland,  49. 
^  Motley,  V  Dutch  Republic,"  I,  69. 
85  B.  R.  N.",  VII,  521. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    43 

the  restless  Netherlands,  the  ratio  of  Anabaptist  losses 
to  that  of  other  Protestant  bodies  was  ten  to  one.^® 

But  the  bitterest  thing  of  all  was  that  the  hatred  of 
their  fellow  martyrs  was  not  a  whit  less  vehement  than 
that  of  the  Roman  Catholics.  Surely  it  makes  humiliating 
reading,  when  we  scan  the  lines,  burning  with  antagonism 
and  hatred,  in  which  the  Protestant  contemporaries  of 
these  early  Dutch  Anabaptists  pour  vitriol  in  the  wounds 
of  these  humble  followers  of  Christ.  "  By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them."  What  are  we  to  think  of  Luther, 
who  attributes  the  marvelous  courage  and  patience  as- 
cribed to  these  martyrs  to  "  diabolical  possession  "  ? 

Fabritius,  the  great  Reformed  preacher,  captured  by 
treachery,  awaits  his  sentence  at  Antwerp,  and  a  friend, 
writing  him  an  encouraging  letter,  uses  this  argument:*^ 

When  you  see  that  nowadays  the  poor  Anabaptists,  in  great 
droves,  with  all  confidence,  suffer  many  and  various  oppressions, 
exiles,  imprisonment,  torture-chambers,  fire,  sword,  water,  and 
many  other  ways  of  death,  and  this  all — what  a  pity — for  ugly 
and  slanderous  errors. 

No  one  pities  them,  as  they  do  the  other  martyrs ;  they 
stand  alone,  forsaken  of  all  men  in  their  misery. 

Guido  de  Bres,  author  of  the  "  Belgic  confession  "  and 
the  most  celebrated  martyr  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition, 
who  died  by  hanging  at  Valenciennes  in  1567,  called  the 
Anabaptists  "  the  tares  in  the  wheat."  Two  years  before 
his  death  he  wrote  a  book  against  them,®*  in  which  he 
called  them  "  a  pest  for  the  Netherlands  "  and  bitterly 
traduced  them  in  every  way.*^  Compelled  to  admit  that 
many  Anabaptists  were  truly  godly  men,  he  falls  back  on 
the  maxim  "  Doctrine  goes  before  life." 

86  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  88.  «^  B.  R.  N.,  VIII,  430. 

*^  La  racine,  source  et  fondament  des  Anabaptistes.    B.  R.  N.,  VII,  467, 

^  B.  R.  N.,  VIII,  487. 


44  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

When  the  stress  of  the  persecution  had  risen  to  the 
breaking-point  and  when,  afraid  of  the  ominous  rumbUngs 
in  every  direction,  which  presaged  a  coming  storm,  Mar- 
garet and  her  advisers  had  devised  a  plan  of  moderation, 
the  Anabaptists  were  specifically  excluded  from  its  opera- 
tion.®^ In  the  inhuman  placards  of  the  day,  the  Ana- 
baptists, one  and  all,  were  declared  to  be  outlaws.  Those 
who  were  captured  and  repented,  if  men,  were  to  be  be- 
headed; if  women,  drowned  or  buried  alive.  All  their 
teachers  and  all  unrepenting  captives  were  burnt  at  the 
stake. 

Two  things,  in  the  main,  constituted  the  indictment 
against  them:  they  were  indiscriminately  accused  of  re- 
belliousness, and  they  rejected  infant  baptism.  The  latter, 
in  view  of  the  age-long  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
anent  the  absolute  necessity  of  baptism  to  secure  the  sal- 
vation of  the  child,  must  have  appeared  little  less  than 
child-murder  to  their  contemporaries. 

An  echo  of  this  state  of  mind  comes  to  us  from  the 
Strassburg  Disputation,^^  in  which  we  read : 

We  wish  that  Hoffman  would  assign  a  cause  for  his  raving 
against  infant  baptism  and  prove  its  justice,  since  he  has  caused 
many  hundreds  of  his  brethren  to  be  strangled  on  account  of 
it,  who  were  executed  in  many  lands. 

Luther  says  of  the  Anabaptists,  "  These  wretches  can 
be  held  under  neither  by  fire  nor  sword.  They  leave  wife, 
child,  home,  farm,  and  all  they  have."  Melanchthon,  once 
in  sympathy  with  the  Zwickau  prophets,  said,  "  One  need 
not  pity  the  Anabaptists,  although  one  sees  them  die  sted- 
fastly  for  their  faith,  for  they  are  hardened  by  Satan." 
And  Calvin  and  Zwingli  were  not  a  whit  behind  in  their 

«»  y.  en  D..  Gesch.  der  H.  K..  i,  i8i. 
«  B.  R.  N.,  V,  304. 


ORIGIN  AND  EARLY  DEVELOPMENTS    45 

harsh  condemnation  of  the  hated  sect.  All  the  Protes- 
tant leaders  of  the  day  but  swell  the  chorus  of  condem- 
nation. Nowhere  a  word  of  pity  or  sympathy,  every- 
where this  crass  and  utter  rejection  of  all  their  claims 
and  pleas. 

In  the  fullest  sense  they  were  the  outcasts,  the  Ishmaels 
of  their  day. 

9.  Constant  Touch  with  England 

During  all  this  period  large  numbers  of  Anabaptists 
were  continually  shifting  between  the  European  mainland 
and  England. 

Whenever  the  pressure  of  the  persecution  rose  beyond 
the  endurance-point  on  the  Continent,  and  whenever  con- 
ditions in  England  seemed  more  favorable,  they  flocked 
in  large  numbers  to  the  great  island  kingdom,  their  last 
hope  and  sanctuary. 

Economic  conditions  in  England  always  offered  a  ready 
market  for  labor,  and  thus  laborers  were  always  welcome. 
And  as  the  Anabaptists,  taught  by  bitter  experience  else- 
where, generally  were  content  to  hide  their  identity,  were 
frugal  and  industrious,  and  proved  acceptable  in  the  vari- 
ous— ^mostly  humble — spheres,  where  they  sought  admit- 
tance, they  were  generally  well  received  and  universally 
kindly  treated.  Thus  there  was  a  great  influx  of  Ana- 
baptists in  England  during  the  whole  reformatory  period. 

Large  numbers  came  in  1528,  and  the  flow  continued 
uninterruptedly  till  by  1573  it  was  estimated  that  there 
were  fifty  thousand  of  them  in  the  country.  They  natu- 
rally congregated  in  certain  fixed  centers.  Their  strong- 
holds were  found  in  London,  Norwich,  Dover,  Romeney, 
Sandwich,  Canterbury,  Colchester,  Hastings,  etc.  Many 
of  the  earlier  Anabaptist  refugees  were  Hoffmanites, 
later   they    were   prevailingly  of   the    Mennonite    type. 


46  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

"  Every  record  of  these  people,  during  the  sixteenth 
century,  indicates  that  they  were  foreigners,  chiefly  Dutch, 
who  made  little  if  any  impression  on  the  people  of  Eng- 
land, who  were  the  last  of  any  people  to  adopt  anti- 
pedobaptist  sentiments."  ^^  But  only  a  small  portion  of 
these  thousands  of  immigrants  ever  repatriated  them- 
selves. The  great  bulk  of  them  were  amalgamated  with 
the  English  nation,  and  became  a  leaven  for  the  sub- 
sequent non-conformist  movement  in  the  English  Church. 
Of  this  point  I  will  treat  more  fully  hereafter. 

The  laws  of  the  land  were  as  bitter  against  them  as 
those  of  the  Continent;  their  only  safety  consisted  there- 
fore in  lying  hidden.  Wherever  they  asserted  themselves 
and  revealed  their  identity  or  showed  any  disposition  to 
thrust  their  peculiar  views  upon  their  environment,  they 
were  in  as  mortal  danger  in  England  as  in  Holland. 

The  fact  that  the  trials  of  Anabaptists  in  England  are 
practically  negligible  in  number  pleads  for  the  theory  of 
a  quiet,  restrained  life  on  their  part  in  England,  till  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  they  had  liberty 
to  exercise  their  religion  as  well  as  the  other  non-con- 
formist bodies;  or  on  the  other  hand,  that  of  a  quite 
general  absorption  of  them  by  their  environment. 

It  appears  that  Doctor  Vedder  is  not  quite  justified  in 
the  assumption  that  "  the  decline  of  the  persecution  on 
the  continent  caused  their  numbers  to  dwindle  till  they 
disappeared." 

Too  many  traces  of  them  are  left  in  the  non-conformist 
life  of  England  to  accept  this  theory.  They  came  to  En- 
gland in  vast  numbers,  they  remained  there  in  large  num- 
bers; and  they  set  their  stamp  as  indelibly  on  the  land 
that  gave  them  sanctuary  as  they  did  on  the  land  of  their 
birth. 

•8  Newman,  *•  Hist,  qf  Antiped.,"  34S1  44$» 


n 

THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS 

Two  currents,  as  we  have  seen,  flowed  side  by  side 
in  the  Anabaptist  movement;  it  developed  on  parallel 
lines:  to  the  right,  the  conservative  current;  to  the  left, 
the  radical. 

Doctor  Vedder  calls  the  Anabaptist  efliorts  "  the  radical 
Reformation."  And  in  a  way  this  is  true  of  the  entire  de- 
velopment, but  it  is  true,  in  a  special  sense  of  that  part 
of  it  which  we  will  consider  in  the  present  lecture. 

In  order  that  we  may  obtain  a  bird's-eye  view  of  this 
radicalism,  it  is  best  to  group  it  under  two  heads;  the 
first  is  its  theological  aspect ;  the  seond,  its  economic  and 
social  development. 

I.  THEOLOGICAL  RADICALISM 

Here  several  names  immediately  suggest  themselves, 
more  or  less  familiar  to  the  church  historian — Melchior 
Hoffman,  David  Joris,  Hendrick  Niklaes,  Adam  Pastor, 
Sebastian  Franck,  and  John  Matthysz;  the  last,  a  man 
of  opinions  less  than  a  man  of  acts  but,  as  the  connect- 
ing-link between  Hoffman  and  Miinster,  indispensable  in 
this  galaxy  of  worthies. 

1.  Melchior  Hoffman 

As  we  have  seen,  the  Anabaptists  spread  themselves 
over  all  Europe,  from  the  highlands  of  Central  Europe 
where  they  had  originated.  But  the  mightiest  current 
flowed  toward  the  North. 

47 


48  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

In  Wiirtemberg,  Baden,  the  Palatinate,  Hessia,  and  Thuringia, 
they  were  soon  so  numerous  that  they  constituted  a  popular 
movement.  Here  even  in  the  Middle  Ages,  groups  and  asso- 
ciations had  formed  themselves,  which  turned  their  backs  on  all 
dogmatic  and  ceremonial  ecclesiasticism.  The  Reformation  em- 
bodied this  spirit,  and  from  these  circles  soon  accessions  came  to 
the  Anabaptist  movement/ 

But  here  also  it  met  with  a  crushing  opposition.  Always 
north  the  current  therefore  sped,  till  it  crossed  even  the 
ocean  waves  and  washed  the  shores  of  England. 

In  Holland  the  Anabaptists  found  the  soil  prepared  for 
the  reception  of  the  seed,  for  Lutheranism  had  made  an 
appeal  to  the  national  spirit  and  somehow  had  failed. 
What  pleased  the  Germans  could  not  please  the  Holland- 
ers. They  are  of  a  radically  different  psychological  type. 
There  is  far  more  spiritual  kinship  between  the  Scotch- 
man and  the  Hollander  than  between  the  latter  and  the 
German.  Lutheranism  never  obtained  a  strong  hold  on 
the  Dutch  mind.  And  what  there  had  been  of  it  in  the 
Lowlands  had  been  practically  stamped  out  by  the  heel 
of  persecution. 

Moreover  when  the  Anabaptist  movement  swept  over 
Holland,  Calvinism  had  not  yet  appeared  in  sufificient 
strength  to  make  a  deep  impression. 

Let  us  therefore  beware  of  underestimating  the  initial 
success  of  Anabaptism  in  this  part  of  Europe.  It  came 
almost  with  the  shock  of  a  spiritual  impact.  It  spread 
like  wild-fire  among  the  masses  of  the  people,  in  every 
direction,  but  it  held  a  special  fascination  for  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Northern  provinces.  Not  that  its  powerful 
influence  was  not  felt  in  the  Southern  provinces  as  well ; 
but  it  seemed  as  if  the  Anabaptist  current,  rushing  north- 
ward, had  reached  the  ocean  and  recoiling  upon  itself 

^  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  54. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  49 

had  subsided  at  last  in  the  spot  where  further  progress 
was  a  physical  impossibility. 

And  of  this  impact,  of  this  tremendous  initial  success, 
Melchior  Hoffman  was  the  leader.  A.  Brons  calls  him 
''the  father  of  the  Dutch  Baptists"^  (Doopsgesinden), 
and  justly  so. 

In  distinction  from  the  Swiss  Anabaptist  leaders,  Mel- 
chior Hoffman  was  a  man  of  the  people,  a  craftsman,  by 
trade  a  furrier,  wholly  an  autodidact ;  whose  library  con- 
sisted of  one  book,  the  Bible,  and  whose  schooling  was  of 
the  most  meager  kind. 

Originally  closely  attached  to  Luther,  he  soon  drifted 
away  from  Wittenberg  with  all  its  influences,  and,  in  his 
wanderings,  finally  reached  the  city  of  Strassburg,  where 
he  joined  the  Anabaptists,  in  1529,  the  same  fatal  year  in 
which  they  were  declared  outlaws  throughout  the  entire 
empire. 

I  have  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  reaction  of 
these  terrible  days  produced  among  a  certain  type  of 
Anabaptists  decidedly  fanatical  and  chiliastic  propensities. 
Hoffman  identified  himself,  heart  and  soul,  with  this 
group;  he  began  to  study  the  prophecies,  he  received 
visions  and  began  to  consider  these  as  direct  divine  reve- 
lations. 

A  man  of  a  nervous  temperament,  with  a  fiery  tongue 
and  a  burning  imagination,  he  was  soon  at  the  very  fore- 
front of  the  throng  of  visionists,  who  imagined  they  saw, 
in  the  clouds  of  the  distant  horizon,  the  picture  of  their 
deliverance  and  glory.  Christ  was  coming,  the  millen- 
nium fast  approaching,  the  days  of  their  warfare  were  al- 
most over.  Oh  to.be  ready,  with  lamps  trimmed  and 
burning,  when  the  bridegroom  came ! 

This  furrier,  untaught  by  man,  began  now  to  create, 

*  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  54. 
D 


50  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

from  the  Scriptures  and  from  his  hypersensitive  imagina- 
tion, an  eschatological  structure  which  for  a  few  years 
was  to  cast  its  shadows  over  all  Northern  Europe.  Strass- 
burg  was  to  be  the  "  new  Jerusalem,"  descending  from 
God  out  of  heaven ;  the  two  witnesses  were  to  appear,  and 
of  these  two  he  was  the  first,  even  "  EHjah." 

He  now  began  to  move  restlessly,  like  a  wandering 
Jew,  from  place  to  place,  especially  through  the  Nether- 
lands and  East  Frisia.  At  Embden  alone  he  baptized 
three  hundred  people,  among  whom  was  Jan  Volkerts, 
surnamed  Trypmaker,  from  his  handicraft.  This  con- 
vert of  Hoffman  was  destined  indirectly  to  point  the  way 
to  Miinster.  With  him  Hoffman  traversed  Holland  from 
end  to  end,  preaching,  prophesying,  baptizing  everywhere. 
As  moths  are  attracted  by  the  candle,  so  were  men  and 
women  attracted  by  his  fiery  pictures  of  the  coming  of 
Christ,  of  the  destruction  of  the  wicked,  and  of  the  glory 
in  store  for  all  true  believers.  Literally  thousands  were 
baptized  by  Hoffman  and  Trypmaker.  Like  the  breath  of 
the  Lord  in  the  valley  of  dead  men's  bones,  the  message 
of  this  fervid  chiliasm  passed  from  lip  to  lip  and  from 
heart  to  heart,  and  the  words  of  the  preacher  burned 
like  fire  in  their  bones. 

But  as  the  time  was  short  and  the  millennium  sure  to 
begin  at  Strassburg  in  1533,  Hoffman  hied 'himself  thither, 
leaving  Trypmaker  behind  in  Holland  to  encourage  the 
saints.  Alas,  on  his  arrival  in  the  city,  he  was  appre- 
hended, tried,  convicted,  and  imprisoned  till  his  death, 
ten  years  later. 

His  fanaticism  consisted  of  two  things:  First,  he 
preached  a  sudden  imminent  change  in  the  course  of 
events ;  and  secondly,  he  assured  himself  that  that  which 
he  conceived  possible  would  certainly  come  to  pass.  He 
was  therefore  thoroughly  wrapped  up  in  himself  and 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  51 

utterly  self-deceived.^  Zur  Linden  denies  that  Hoffman 
was  a  chiliast.  He  tells  us  that  he  pictured  to  himself, 
in  the  coming  revolution,  some  such  event  as  had  con- 
stituted former  historical  crises,  say  the  period  of  John 
Huss  and  his  revolt  against  existing  conditions.*  But  if 
Zur  Linden  is  correct  in  this  judgment,  why  did  Hoffman 
call  himself  "  Elijah,"  one  of  the  "  two  witnesses "  of 
Revelation  ?  In  his  "  Ordinance  of  God  "  ^  He  the  seeds 
of  the  revolutionary  outbreaks  of  his  followers,  who,  as  is 
generally  the  case,  were  to  go  far  beyond  the  master. 
He  there  reminds  his  readers  that  "  those  who  believe  will 
sit  with  Christ  in  his  throne  and  will  rule  over  the  Gen- 
tiles." ^  Surely  the  harvest  of  the  Miinster  tragedy  lay 
in  the  teachings  of  this  man,  as  any  harvest  lies  in  the 
seed  scattered  by  the  sower. 

The  whole  recital  of  the  Strassburg  disputation,  June 
3-15,  1533,  on  which  Hoffman  was  condemned  to  life- 
long imprisonment,  is  found  in  the  Bibliotheca  Reforma- 
toria  Neerlandica,  all  the  Reformed  preachers  of  the  city 
being  arrayed  against  the  accused  and  Schwenkf eld. 

The  Acta  of  this  meeting  contain  the  entire  proces  ver- 
bal of  all  its  transactions.  They  are  a  perfect  word- 
picture  of  what  transpired  there  and,  though  written  by 
an  opponent  of  Hoffman,  were  never  seriously  questioned 
as  to  their  historicity  or  correctness.  They  were  orig- 
inally published  in  German,  but  immediately  translated 
into  Dutch,  on  account  of  the  large  following  Hoffman 
had  secured  in  the  Lowlands. 

In  the  introduction  we  are  told  by  Martin  Biitzer,  the 
editor,  that  besides  the  commonly  accepted  Anabaptist 
vagaries,   some  of  these  Strassburg  Hoffmanites  lived 

SB.  R.  N.,  V,  129. 

*  M.  H.,  Ein  Prophet  der  Wiedert'dufer,  199^ 

^  Ordonantie  Gods. 

«B.  R,  Nm  V,  154, 


52  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

very  impure  lives,  and,  when  accused  of  it,  they  answered 
"  that  they  did  not  sin  in  these  things,  for  they  can  no 
longer  sin,  their  old  Adam  is  dead."  ^  Strip  this  of  all 
partisanship,  and  there  is  still  ground  to  believe  that  the 
antinomian  spirit,  later  so  familiarly  known  among  the 
Hoffmanites,  was  even  then  at  work  at  Strassburg,  and 
waited  only  for  a  more  favorable  environment. 

The  fanaticism  there  had  risen  to  the  boiling-point. 
One  Leonard  Joesten  and  his  wife  Ursula  were  said  to  be 
divinely  inspired,  as  they  prophesied.  These  prophecies 
were  eagerly  published  by  Hoffman  and,  in  1532,  they 
had  passed  through  a  second  edition.  They  are  now, 
alas,  utterly  lost.  If  we  had  them,  we  would  be  able  to 
see  more  clearly  to  what  extent  Hoffman  was  really  re- 
sponsible for  the  Miinster  disaster. 

According  to  these  prophecies,  the  light  was  to  go  forth 
from  Strassburg,  which  was  to  enlighten  the  whole  world. 
The  baptism  with  water  was  offered  to  the  whole  world, 
but  for  those  who  had  persecuted  the  saints  there  was 
to  be  a  baptism  of  blood,  etc.  And  Hoffman  claimed 
that  these  prophecies  were  as  valuable  as  those  of  Isaiah 
or  Jeremiah.^ 

When  the  "  disputation "  was  over,  his  case  was 
summed  up  as  follows  by  the  judges: 

1.  He  denies  both  the  divinity  and  humanity  of  Christ. 

2.  He  denies  the  prescience  of  God,  and  the  doctrine  of 
election.  He  impugns  the  plan  of  salvation  and  teaches 
an  absolutely  free  will. 

3.  He  attacks  the  comfort  of  the  consciousness  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sin. 

4.  He  assigns  infant  baptism  to  the  devil  and  disrupts 
the  communion  of  saints.® 

'  Intr.  to  Disp.,  B.  R,  N.,  V,  222. 

8B.  R.  N.,  V,  226,  Aant,  4.  "  B.  R.  N.,  V,  308. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  53 

The  Strassburgers  evidently  looked  upon  him  as  a 
dreadful  heretic ;  as  we  see  him,  he  was  rather  a  vacillat- 
ing and  weak  man.  In  his  Das  XII  Cap.  des  Daniels  aus- 
gelegt,  1526,  he  had  denied  the  freedom  of  the  will,  and 
before  his  death,  he  "  recanted  most  of  his  strange  ideas 
and  said  he  no  longer  believed  that  the  last  day  was 
near."  ^^  Evidently  his  spirit  was  broken  by  his  long 
imprisonment.  Trypmaker,  his  Dutch  disciple,  had  al- 
ready sealed  his  faith  with  his  blood,  December  5,  1531,  at 
the  Hague.  Poor  Hoffman !  When  he  was  led  away  to 
prison — and  those  medieval  prisons  were  no  rest-houses — 

he  had  lifted  up  his  hand  toward  heaven  and  swore  by  God,  who 
lives  there  for  ever  and  ever,  that  he  would  neither  use  food  nor 
drink,  but  bread  and  water,  before  he  had  pointed  his  finger 
to  Him  who  had  sent  him. 

Did  he  keep  his  oath  all  these  endless,  tragic,  ten  years  ? 
With  his  death  the  Strassburg  HofTmanites  died  out. 

2.  David  Joris 

David  Joris  was  born  at  Delft  and  was  ordained  as  an 
Anabaptist  bishop  by  Obbe  Philips,  at  Delft,  either  in 
1535  or  1536;  at  least  about  the  same  time  with  Derek 
Philips  and  Menno  Simons."  For  a  while  he  was  with 
Hoffman  at  Strassburg.  In  1545  he  attended  the  dispu- 
tation at  Liibeck,  with  Menno  and  others,  and  took  an 
active  part  in  the  discussion.  He  has  been  called  "the 
arch-heretic  "  among  the  Anabaptists  and  he  was  always 
named  in  the  same  breath  with  Sebastian  Franck.  Mar- 
nix  van  Aldegonde,  the  celebrated  Reformed  statesman 
and  theologian,  stigmatizes  him  as  the  "  greatest  heretic 
among  them  all."  ^^ 

"  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  57. 

"  Succ.  Anah.,  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  45- 

12  B.  R.  N.,  X,  475. 


54  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

His  industry  was  marvelous,  for  two  folios  and  more 
than  a  thousand  tracts  remain  from  his  hand.  Both 
Dr.  A.  M.  Cramer  ^^  and  Doctor  Nippold  ^"^  have  shed 
a  wonderful  light  on  this  singular  character.  And  yet 
Dr.  S.  Cramer  admits  that  still  much  about  David  Joris 
and  his  doctrines  remains  dark  and  uncertain. ^'^  So  much 
is  sure,  that  he  was  extremely  egoistic  and  considered 
himself  the  "  true  David,"  the  acme  and  final  consumma- 
tion of  the  revelation  of  God.  Even  Christ  was  only  the 
shadow  of  the  coming  glory  realized  in  him.  With  him 
all  revelation  reached  its  adult  state,  he  ushered  in  the 
final  stage  of  the  development  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
V.  P.,  the  unknown  author,  in  his  Successio  Anabaptistica, 
summarizes  the  doctrines  of  David  Joris,  as  follows :  ^* 

1.  All  revelation,  hitherto  given  by  Moses,  the  prophets, 
Christ,  and  the  apostles,  are  now  null  and  void  for  salva- 
tion. They  were  only  temporary  expedients,  till  the  time 
of  David  Joris. 

2.  David  Joris  is  the  true  Christ  and  Messiah. 

3.  Christ  did  not  rise  in  the  flesh,  but  is  now  reincar- 
nated in  David  Joris. 

4.  D.  J.  can  absolutely  pardon  sin,  and  can  also  damn 
forever;  and,  at  the  last  day,  he  will  judge  the  world. 

5.  D.  J.  will  again  raise  the  House  of  Israel  and  the 
true  children  of  Levi,  with  the  true  tabernacle  of  God; 
not  by  the  way  of  the  cross  and  of  death,  like  the  other 
Christ,  but  with  mercy,  love,  and  grace. 

Blasphemous  and  ridiculous  claims,  you  say;  but  tell 
me  how  could  one,  with  such  claims,  in  a  period  so  un- 
settled, and  with  thousands  longing  for  any  change  that 
offered,  help  gaining  a  tremendous  following  ? 

1^  Het  Ned.  Arc  hie  f  v.  Kerkgesch. 
^*  Zeitschrift  fiir  die  Hist.  Theologie. 
«  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  282. 
"B.  R.   N.,  VII,  48. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  55 

His  bold  assumption,  his  fiery  oratory,  his  hysterical 
utterance,  both  in  his  public  address  and  in  his  writings 
frequently  bordering  on  absolute  blasphemy,  made  it  in- 
evitable.    For  example :  ^" 

Come  hither  to  me  and  listen  to  me.  Come,  ye  that  are 
athirst,  to  the  waters  of  life,  to  the  fountain  of  wisdom  in  the 
highest.  Yea,  ye  that  are  at  your  wits'  end,  who  have  no 
money,  come  buy,  that  ye  may  have  to  eat.  .  .  Hear,  hear,  ye  that 
have  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  Hsten,  listen  to  the  voice  of  the 
trumpet.  Wake  up!  Wake  up!  Wake  up!  Rouse  yourselves, 
more,  still  more,  yet  more,  more,  more!  No,  still  more  and 
more  and  still  more!     Look,  look  now,  expect  your  God. 

Sentences  like  these  strike  one  like  a  hammer.  There 
is  an  echo  in  it  all  of  the  style  of  Miinzer.  In  all  ages 
and  among  all  peoples  there  is  always  a  stratum  of  stupid 
admirers  of  the  marvelous  and  the  bizarre,  who  are 
caught  in  that  sort  of  net.  Who  can  wonder  that  in 
the  restless  days,  in  which  these  words  were  spoken  or 
rather  flung  out  among  masses  wholly  estranged  from 
the  Church,  whose  entire  religious  consciousness  was  in 
a  state  of  flux,  such  an  appeal  must  have  been  strangely 
fascinating  to  the  common  people,  especially  those  of  an 
emotional  temperament  ?  When,  later  on,  the  Mennonites 
were  organized,  they  forbade  the  reading  of  the  books 
of  David  Joris  to  their  members,  on  pain  of  the  ban.^* 
And  small  wonder,  for  Joris  denied  all  the  cardinal 
articles  of  the  Christian  faith.  He  sought  the  kingdom 
of  God  in  this  world,  denying  both  heaven  and  hell.  He 
was  accused  of  immorality,*^  since  he  taught  that  the 
acts  and  words  of  the  believer  do  not  affect  the  holiness 
of  his  heart  in  the  least.  He  taught  that  believers,  in 
order  to  escape  persecution,  may  safely  take  part  in  the 

"  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  378,  379. 
^8B.  R.  N.,  VII,  416. 
"B.  R.  N.,  VII,  283,  302. 


56  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Romish  ceremonies,  if  only  they  set  not  their  heart  on 
them.  His  main  ideas  apparently  were  these:  First,  the 
Scriptures,  their  commands  and  ceremonies,  must  not  be 
taken  literally,  but  must  be  translated  into  the  terms  of 
one's  environment.  Not  the  letter,  but  the  spirit,  that  is 
the  value  one  sets  on  the  letter,  counts — an  idea  which  re- 
minds us  of  RitschFs  Werthurtheil.  And  secondly,  the  be- 
liever is  a  changed  man,  drastically  changed ;  he  lives  not 
only  in  a  different  sphere  of  thought,  but  in  a  really  new 
world,  he  stands  individually  before  the  great  question 
of  life  and  salvation.  No  church,  no  theology,  no  dc^ma 
can  help  him.  God  lives  in  and  with  believers,  in  a  sense 
they  are  deified.  All  searching  after  God  and  all  philoso- 
phizing about  him  are  unnecessary ;  the  believer  has  God. 
Such  was  the  theology  of  David  Joris. 

For  a  while  he  had  a  large  following.  But  the  Ana- 
baptists had  excommunicated  him,  and  the  Inquisition 
tried  very  hard  to  lay  hands  on  him.  Had  he  been  caught, 
his  punishment  would  have  been  exemplary.  But  he  dis- 
appeared completely.  For  many  years  he  lived  unrecog- 
nized at  Basel,  under  the  assumed  name  of  Johan  van 
Brugge,  and  when  he  died  he  received  a  notable,  almost 
an  official  funeral.  Three  years  after  his  death,  it  was 
discovered  whom  the  city  had  harbored  so  many  years. 
His  body  was  exhumed,  a  regular  trial  was  held  over  it, 
and  the  poor  remains,  together  with  a  large  box  of  his 
books  and  his  portrait,  were  burned  at  the  stake,  by  the 
executioner,  in  1556.^° 

3.  Hendrick  Niklaes 

Running  somewhat  on  parallel  lines  with  the  David- 
Jorists,  the  faction  among  the  Anabaptists  created  by 
Hendrick  Niklaes  was  yet  distinct  from  them.     But  he 

»>  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  274- 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  57 

was  of  the  same  general  type  with  David  Joris,  whose 
correspondent  he  was. 

He  claimed  to  usher  in  a  complete  state  of  sinlessness, 
of  absolute  perfection,  when  he  founded  the  "  House  or 
Family  of  Love."  Like  David,  he  taught  that  all  former 
revelations,  imperfect  as  they  were,  now  had  reached  their 
ultimate  in  him.  The  past  had  done  its  work,  it  was 
irrevocably  cast  aside.  No  more  doctrine  or  sacraments, 
all  these  were  dead,  mere  works  of  childhood ;  with  him 
the  period  of  adolescence  was  ushered  in.  Acts  do  not 
count,  only  what  one  feels  and  believes  counts ;  and  love 
is  the  one  thing  in  life.  Remain  in  the  Church,  if  you  will, 
or  leave  it,  if  you  will,  it  is  all  the  same.  When  the  heart 
is  right,  all  else  is.  His  contemporaries  accused  him  of 
shocking  immorality  and  of  teaching  free  love.  It  is 
certain  that  his  teaching  had  a  distinct  antinomian  ten- 
dency. 

In  a  little  book,  still  found  in  the  Mennonite  library  at 
Amsterdam,  published  in  1546,  and  entitled  "  Of  the 
Spiritual  Land  of  Promise,  of  the  Heavenly  Jerusalem, 
and  the  Holy  People,  written  by  Niklaes,"  ^^  we  read 
things  like  these : 

Nothing  unclean  is  to  be  seen  in  each  other,  it  is  all  divine  and 
holy  and  good.  Because  it  is  all  God's  handiwork,  they  are  not 
ashamed  of  it,  nor  do  they  cover  their  members  from  each 
other.  .  .  And  thus  God  views  the  noble  man  in  his  nakedness 
and  man  also  views  the  glorious  God  in  his  divine  nakedness. 
And  this  is  pleasing  to  God  that  all  coverings  and  all  protec- 
tions and  all  middle  walls  of  partition  be  removed  from  his 
handiwork,  in  order  that  God  may  recognize  it  as  good,  as  he  has 
made  it. 

Niklaes  specifically  defends  "  spiritual  marriage  "  in  his 
"  Spiritual  Law  and  Promise,"  and  thus  we  see  one  of 

»  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  Nic,  InL,  304. 


58  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

the  modern  Mormon  doctrines  grin  at  us  from  the  gray 
past.  Strange  is  it  not,  how  little  that  is  really  new  there 
is  under  the  sun.^^ 

What  Niklaes  teaches  had  been  taught  and  practised 
before  his  day.  For  the  "Adamites"  of  Hussite  days 
had  held  similar  views.  And  the  Libertines  who  were 
Calvin's  mortal  enemies  at  Geneva  evidently  had  come  in 
touch  with  the  House  of  Love.  And  the  so-called 
"  Naked-runners  "  (Naaktloopers)  among  the  Anabaptist 
fanatics,  who  in  this  period  appeared  in  many  cities,  in 
serious  disturbances,  were  manifestly  disciples  of  Niklaes. 
The  sect  was  transplanted  to  England,  where  they  were 
known  as  Familists,  with  a  very  unsavory  reputation, 
and  where  they  lay  under  the  imputation  of  serious  im- 
morality. 

4.  Adam  Pastor 

Here  we  meet  with  a  man  of  a  different  stamp,  radical, 
as  were  the  others  mentioned,  but  of  a  far  more  danger- 
ous type.  His  original  name  was  Roelof  Martens.  He 
was  a  Westphalian  by  birth  and  had  been  in  holy  orders, 
inasmuch  as  he  was  a  converted  monk  or  priest.  Among 
several  others  he  was  sent  out  as  an  Anabaptist  (Doops- 
gesinde)  bishop  by  Derek  Philips  and  Menno  Simons, 
between  1543  and  1547 — when  is  not  exactly  known. 
He  became  a  strong  antagonist  of  the  David  Joris  party 
and  of  the  "  House  of  Love."  His  mind  was  too  clear, 
his  eye  too  sharp,  his  thoughts  too  profound  to  be  de- 
ceived or  attracted  by  such  vagaries.  He  was  unques- 
tionably the  most  brilliant  man  and  scholar  in  the  entire 
Dutch  Anabaptist  community  of  his  day.  In  him  we 
find  all  the  boldness,  all  the  self-assertiveness  of  the  later 
Dutch  "  Moderns  "  and  a  forecast  of  many  of  their  doc- 

22  Nic,  Inlass.,  B.  R.  N.,  304,  306. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  59 

trines.  He  was  a  born  liberal  and  wholly  unafraid  to 
state  his  views.  Dr.  S.  Cramer  heralds  Pastor  as  one 
"  in  whom  we  most  purely  meet  that  which  gave  its 
peculiar  cachet  to  the  *  brotherhood,'  at  least  in  our  coun- 
try ; "  ^^  which  clearly  indicates  the  doctrinal  position  of 
the  Dutch  Mennonites  in  our  day. 

Adam  Pastor,  in  his  earlier  ministry,  had  a  decided 
leaning  to  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  incarnation,  which 
was  utterly  different  from  that  of  Menno  Simons.  Hence 
the  indecisive  disputation  of  Embden  in  1547,  where  they 
covered  this  point  in  a  lengthy  debate.  That  debate 
formed  a  crisis  in  the  life  of  Pastor;  his  views  changed 
completely  and  he  became  an  avowed  anti-Trinitarian. 
After  the  disputation  of  Goch,  which  followed  soon  after 
that  of  Embden,  where  Pastor  avowed  his  change  of 
opinion  and  openly  expressed  his  new  views,  he  was  de- 
posed from  the  Anabaptist  ministry  and  excommunicated 
by  Philips  and  Menno.  But  he  retained  a  large  following 
and  labored  on  the  lower  Rhine.  His  followers  were 
named  "  Pastor ites  "  and  after  his  death  were  gradually 
absorbed  by  the  other  parties  among  the  Anabaptists ;  by 
the  Baptists  (Doopsgesinden)  to  the  largest  extent,  and 
by  the  later  Socinians. 

It  is  said  that  Menno  Simons,  when  an  old  man,  de- 
plored his  act  of  "  banning  "  Pastor ;  at  least  he  wrote,  in 
1550,  whilst  he  deplored  the  fact  that  they  had  disputed 
about  such  matters  as  the  divinity  of  Christ  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  "  May  the  Lord  not  impute  it  as  a  sin  to 
them,  who  allowed  it  to  come  to  the  ban."  2* 

Surely  Menno  Simons  banned  or  helped  to  ban  many 
a  man  for  far  more  insignificant  lapses  than  those  of 
Adam  Pastor.    The  latter,  however,  apparently  felt  the 

23Intr.   Underscheit,  etc.,  B.  R.  N.,  V,  355- 

^  Een  vermanenSe  Belvdinge  van  den  drie-eenigen,  eewungen  en  waren 
Cod;  M.   S.  Op.  Omn.,  Amsterdam,   1681,  fol.  385. 


60  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

sting  of  this  ban  to  the  end  of  his  Hfe.  It  was  a  wound 
that  never  healed. 

The  principal  writing  of  Pastor  has  been  preserved  for 
us,  although  only  one  copy,  so  far  as  known,  remained 
when  it  was  reprinted  in  the  Bibliotheca,  and  from  it  we 
learn  to  know  the  exact  theological  opinions  of  the 
author.25  Its  title  is  "  Difference  between  True  Doctrine 
and  False  Doctrine."  ^® 

He  denied  the  Trinity,  the  preexistence  of  Christ,  and 
the  personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  evinced  little  sym- 
pathy with  Paul,  whose  doctrine  of  salvation  was  ap- 
parently repugnant  to  him.  Christ,  his  life,  his  words — 
that  is  the  content  of  his  religion.  He  was  totally  averse 
to  the  Miinster  spirit,  evidently  a  man  of  a  clean  life  and 
a  kindly  disposition.  He  sided  with  the  other  Anabap- 
tists in  the  rejection  of  infant  baptism;  but  was  against 
the  overvaluation  of  adult  baptism  on  faith.^^  But  he 
condemned  the  position  of  the  David-Jorists,  who,  al- 
though they  called  themselves  Anabaptists,  permitted  in- 
fant baptism,  because  they  had  no  faith  in  any  external 
application  of  the  sacrament.^^ 

Such  a  man  was  Adam  Pastor,  whom  we  will  meet 
again. 

His  influence  survived  for  a  long  time,  for  as  late  as 
1628,  some  Flemings,  the  "  Contra-house-buyers  "  ( Con- 
tra-kuiskoopers) — a  great  name  for  a  sect  of  believers — 
are  mentioned  as  adherents  of  Arius  and  Adam  Pastor. 
He  unquestionably  prepared  the  way  for  the  reception 
of  Socinianism  in  Northern  Europe  and  inoculated  Ana- 
baptism  with  it.  His  motto  evidently  was  Intelligo  ut 
ere  dam;  what  he  could  not  understand  he  would  not  be- 
lieve— pure  rationalism  therefore. 

25  B.  R.  N..  V,  31S-581. 

^  Underscheit  tusschen  Rechte  Leer  unde  Valsche  Leer,  Dorch  A.  P. 

5"  B.  R.  N..  V,  41Q.  ^  B.  R.  N.,  V,  477. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  61 

5.  Sebastian  Franck 

Sebastian  Franck  was  a  man  of  the  same  general  type 
as  Pastor.  Dr.  S.  Cramer  does  not  hesitate  to  rank 
him  as  one  of  the  early  independent  Anabaptist  leaders, 
whose  followers  were  called  "  Franconists."  ^®  With  Pas- 
tor, he  bitterly  opposed  the  Miinster  party,  although  he 
says,  in  his  "  Chronicles,"  of  the  same  period,  "  I  con- 
sider it  true  and  I  fully  believe  that  many  pious,  simple 
folk  have  been  and  still  are  in  this  sect,  and  that  many, 
even  of  the  leaders,  were  zealous  for  God."  The  same 
testimony  was  borne  by  Martin  Biitzer,  who  lived  and 
labored  four  years  among  them;  and  in  that  same  spirit 
Menno  Simons  unquestionably  called  them  "  his  dear 
brethren." 

Franck  was  a  liberal  par  excellence  among  these  early 
Anabaptists.  He  rejected  the  Church  as  an  institution, 
with  her  dogmas  and  sacraments,  and  taught  an  undog- 
matic,  antiecclesiastical  type  of  Christianity,  entirely  de- 
pending on  individual  convictions. ^°  Even  among  the 
radicals  he  is  a  radical.  He  considers  the  inward  testi- 
mony of  the  Spirit  far  superior  to  the  Word  of  God,  and 
utterly  denies  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  whilst  he  de- 
rides preaching  and  preachers  and  the  sacraments.  The 
Church  of  God  is  found  everywhere;  not  only  among 
Christians,  but  also  among  Jews,  heathen,  and  Turks. 
Every  one  who  fears  God  is  our  brother,  even  though 
he  never  heard  of  baptism.  The  ban  and  foot- washing 
seemed  to  him  ridiculous  inventions  of  man.  No  one  is 
worthy  the  name  of  preacher,  except  he  be  called  by  a 
voice  from  heaven.  Since,  however,  the  entire  apostolic 
tradition  is  abandoned  and  overturned,  the  Church  will 
remain  a  hopeless  makeshift  till  the  end  of  time.    And 

«*  B.  R.  N.,  VII.  280. 
3«  Idem. 


62  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

no  man  has  the  right  to  gather  the  dispersed  body  of 
Christ,  unless  God  specifically  commissioned  him  to  do 
so.^^    A  cheerful  sort  of  religion. 

But  Franck  was  a  tireless  worker.  He  wrote  "  Chron- 
icles from  the  Time  of  Creation  till  1536";  "World- 
book,  the  Mirror  and  Image  of  the  Whole  Earth,"  printed 
at  Delft  in  1583;  a  "  Golden  Ark,"  1560;  and  a  "  Con- 
cordance or  the  Sealed  Book,  Closed  with  Seven  Seals." 

As  late  as  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  he 
had  many  followers  and  admirers  in  Holland.  Chief 
among  these  was  Dirck  Volkertszoon  Coornhert,  the  au- 
thor of  "  The  Art  of  Living  Well  "  {W elhevenskunst) ,  a 
book  which  largely  influenced  the  Arminian  tendency 
in  the  Netherlands,  in  the  Reformed  Church.  It  would 
seem  therefore  as  if  some  of  Franck's  ideas,  through 
Coornhert,  might  have  sprouted  up  again  in  that  his- 
torical controversy.    Nor  is  this  a  far-fetched  supposition. 

Dr.  F.  Pyper  tell  us :  ^2 

Coornhert  criticized  Philips  severely.  On  the  other  hand,  he  is 
a  great  admirer  of  Franck.  A  number  of  Coornhert's  writings 
afford  evidence  that  he  has  been  subjected  to  a  large  degree  to 
his  influence. 

We  will  later  meet  the  point  of  contact  between  these 
two  again. 

Marnix,  of  Aldegonde,  the  great  statesman  and  friend 
of  William  of  Orange,  outlines  the  ideas  of  Franck  after 
this  manner :  ^^ 

He  teaches  that  the  sacred  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  are  not  the  word  of  God,  but  only  a  shadow  of 
the  word,  a  manger  of  Christ,  a  monstrance,  an  ark,  a  sheath, 

^'iB.  R.  N..  X,  481-508. 
•■'"  B.  R.  N.,  X.  475- 

38  Ph,  ^.   van  Aldegonde,   WederUagime  iex  Qeestdryvkche  Leere, 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  63 

a  lantern,  a  witness,  a  lost  and  closed  book,  yea  death  only 
and  eternal  darkness,  wherewith  Christ  and  all  pious  people  are 
killed.  That  nothing  in  all  the  world  is  less  to  be  considered 
the  word  of  God  than  those  Scriptures,  if  one  understands  them 
externally,  as  they  sound  after  the  letter,  because  they  are  an 
eternal  allegory,  that  is,  they  have  a  hidden  meaning,  the  very 
opposite  of  the  literal  meaning.  Yea  one  might  almost  as  easily 
give  an  account  of  Ovid's  De  Arte  Amandi,  a  book  full  of  terrible 
immorality,  as  of  the  Scriptures,  if  they  are  to  be  literally  un- 
derstood. 

So  much  is  certain  that,  if  possible,  Franck  went  even 
beyond  David  Joris  and  Adam  Pastor  in  the  liberalism 
of  his  ideas.  Was  I  right  in  calling  these  men  the  leaders 
of  the  theological  radicalism  of  the  Anabaptists  ? 

II.  THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL 
RADICALISM 

As  we  have  seen,  the  social  condition  of  the  common 
people,  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  was  deplorable  in 
the  extreme.  In  a  rare  little  volume,  written  by  Lamber- 
tus  Hortensius,  of  Montfoort,  rector  of  the  Latin  school 
of  Naarden,  which  treats  of  the  riots  of  the  Anabaptists, 
the  theory  is  advanced  that  the  great  controversial  tract 
of  Martin  Luther  on  "  The  Freedom  of  the  Christian 
Man,"  wrongly  understood  by  the  masses  of  the  people, 
led  to  the  socialistic  disturbances,  which  culminated  in 
the  Miinster  tragedy.^*  This  seems  an  extremely  far- 
fetched explanation.  For  although  the  year  of  the  ap- 
pearance of  this  work  of  Luther,  1524,  makes  the  con- 
jecture historically  possible,  we  are  not  to  forget  that 
Luther  was  not  largely  read,  was  indeed  persona  non 
grata  in  the  circles  where  these  Anabaptist  disorders 
specially  revealed  themselves. 

^  Verhael  v.  d.  Oproeren,  3. 


64  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Dutch  Anabaptists  heralded  the  Miinster  kingdom ;  they 
were  the  leaders  in  all  the  tragic  developments  in  the 
episcopal  city,  and  they  attempted  several  coups  of  a  like 
character  with  the  Miinster  calamity,  in  several  cities  in 
the  Lowlands.  And  in  all  these  circles  Luther  was  hated 
almost  as  much  as  the  pope  of  Rome.  This  view  of  Hor- 
tensius  may  then  be  set  aside  as  a  mere  speculation. 

It  was  rather  an  echo,  in  the  history  of  the  development 

of  Anabaptism,  of  the  teachings  of  Thomas   Miinzer. 

The  latter  had  proclaimed  everywhere  that  "  the  common 

people  were  oppressed  with  heavy  burdens  and  tolls, 

that  they  were  steadily  overworked  and,  in  addition  to 

that,  could  scarcely  get  enough  food  to  live  on,  and  that 

*  all  wealth  was  in  the  hands  of  the  princes."  ^^    His  re- 

■  bellion  had  been  a  terrible  experience  for  Germany,  and 

j  a  costly  lesson  for  the  rebels;  since  over  one  hundred 

;  thousand  are  said  to  have  perished  in  the  peasant  wars 

by  which  the  Miinzer  rebellion  was  crushed.^^ 

But  the  teachings  of  Miinzer  were  not  dead.  They 
>  spread  far  and  wide  and  mutterings  were  heard  on  every 
hand,  in  lands  far  removed  from  the  seat  of  the  peasant 
wars.  It  was  a  disease  with  a  local  outbreak,  but  which 
affected  the  whole  social  life  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  entire  proletariat  was  affected  by  this  revolt,  and 
again  and  again  the  fire  broke  out  in  widely  separated 
places. 

Now  into  all  this  inflammable  material  had  fallen  the 
/firebrands  of  the  fanatical,  chiliastic  preaching  of  Melchior 
[Hoffman.  Hundreds  of  people  joined  the  ranks  of  his 
followers,  not  from  deeply  religious  convictions,  but  for 
a  change  whatever  it  might  be;  for  the  excitement  it 
would  bring;  for  an  outlook,  vague  and  ill  defined  for 
the  time  being,  but  full  of  promise  for  the  future,  in 

^  Verhael  v.  d.  Oproeren,  4.  ^  Idem,  6. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  65 

which  the  terrible  power  of  oppression  would  be  broken 
and  the  coming  millennium  would  usher  in  a  wholly  new 
order  of  things  and  absolute  social  equality. 

To  these  were  added  malignant  elements  among  the 
lower  orders,  vultures  of  prey,  then  as  now  ever  ready 
to  join  a  movement  which  promised  gain  and  an  outlet 
for  their  evil  passions. 

Van  Lennep,^"^  Ypey  and  Dermout,^*  Fruin,^^  and  Mot- 
ley,**^ all  pour  out  the  vials  of  their  historic  wrath  on  the 
heads  of  the  actors  in  the  drama  of  1534-1535. 

The  fate  of  Europe  hung  in  the  balance;  what  Bol- 
shevism is  today,  radical  Anabaptism  was  then.  The 
Munster  tragedy  was  an  epoch,  it  was  the  hinge  on  which 
the  future  of  Europe  turned.  Success  for  the  Miinsterites 
would  have  brought  chaos  to  the  whole  continent,  for 
Arg^s  eyes  in  every  city  were  watching  the  experiment. 
As  it  was,  the  Munster  experience  wrought  irreparable 
harm  to  the  Reformation,  and  thousands,  who  blindly 
identified  all  branches  of  Protestantism  with  those  riotous 
Anabaptists,  drew  back  with  a  sigh  of  relief  in  the  em- 
brace of  the  old  Church,  which  after  all  seemed  like 
a  harbor  of  refuge  in  the  dreadful  cataclysm  of  human 
passions. 

The  communism  practised  by  the  Miinster  Anabaptists 
was  no  new  thing.  We  have  met  it  among  the  followers 
of  Hut,  the  so-called  "  Meerlanders,"  the  Anabaptists  of 
Mahren,  Moravian  Anabaptists  therefore.  They  were 
separated  from  the  Germans  for  this  very  reason.  On 
account  of  this  communism,  which  they  adopted  because 
they  read  in  the  Scriptures  that  it  was  practised  in  the 
apostolic  Church  (Acts  2  :  44,  45;  4  :  34,  35;  5  :  1-10), 

"  Gesckiedenis  van  Nederland,  I,  212  p. 
"^  Geschiedenis  der  Hervormde  Kerb,  I,  130,  Note  97. 
'»  Tien  Jar  en  uit  den  Tachtig-jarigen  Oorlog,  2^7. 
*»  "  Dutch  Republic,"  79. 

E 


66  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

some  were  burnt  at  the  stake.*^  The  same  authority 
tells  us  that  the  Mahren  Anabaptists  had  church-officers, 
whom  they  called  oeconomicos  or  stewards.  All  the  mem- 
bers together  had  a  kitchen-purse  (Koecborse),  from 
which  all  drew  according  to  their  need.*^ 

The  estimate  of  Anabaptism  by  Doctor  Vedder,  in  view 
of  the  Munster  tragedy,  seems  amazing.    Says  he  :*^ 

They  alone  accepted  in  absolute  good  faith  and  followed  to  its 
necessary  consequences  the  principle  avowed  by  the  leading  re- 
formers, that  the  Scriptures  were  the  sole  source  of  religious 
authority.  .  .  They  were  centuries  in  advance  of  their  time,  in 
perceiving  that  the  good  news  of  salvation,  as  taught  by  Jesus, 
was  a  social  gospel,  and  that  the  acceptance  of  it  implied  and 
necessitated  a  reconstruction  of  society,  until  all  institutions 
could  endure  the  measurement  of  the  golden  rule.  In  a  word, 
the  Anabaptists  were  the  real  reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

In  a  foot-note  the  author  qualifies  this  sweeping  state- 
ment and  says  that  some  of  them  now  would  be  called 
**  anarchists  "  and  "  communists." 

All  the  radical  elements,  which  we  have  studied  up  to 
this  point  evidently  can  lay  no  claim  to  the  title  of  "  real 
reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century " ;  the  Miinsterites 
assuredly  do  not  deserve  the  title,  and  of  the  Anabaptists 
in  general  it  is  certainly  untrue.  The  inherent  faults  of 
their  whole  organization  forbade  them  from  making  a 
deep  and  lasting  impression  anywhere.  A  reformation, 
along  the  lines  laid  down  by  the  Anabaptists,  would  have 
ended  in  dismal  failure.  Here,  I  think,  we  have  a  clear 
case  of  "  Distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view." 

The  more  intimately  one  studies  the  Anabaptist  move- 
ment the  deeper  the  conviction  grows  of  its  inherent 
weakness: 

*iNic.,  Jnlass.,  B.  R,  N.,  VII,  467. 

*'  Idem,  474. 

*'  "  Ref.  in  Germ.,"  345. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  67 

However  we  may  try  to  discriminate  between  them, 
prior  to  the  Miinster  tragedy  they  were  all  called  Ana- 
baptists. Under  that  name  they  figure  in  all  the  docu- 
ments of  the  Bibliotheca,  and  we  gravely  doubt  whether 
Doctor  Vedder's  statement  can  stand  the  test  of  an  un- 
prejudiced historical  criticism. 

Keller  has  justly  said :  "  The  Reformation  originally 
was  largely  negative.  Masses  of  the  people  left  Rome, 
but  they  got  nothing  in  its  stead."  Luther  called  the 
condition  of  the  Church,  in  1529,  "  most  miserable.  The 
common  people  learn  nothing  and  know  nothing.  They 
no  longer  attend  the  confession  or  go  to  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, as  if  they  were  totally  free  from  the  experience  of  all 
religion." 

And  these  conditions  prevailed  in  the  Netherlands  to 
an  alarming  degree.  Lutheranism  had  been  practically 
killed  by  persecution.  Calvinism  had  not  yet  made  its 
appearance  there,  at  least  not  to  any  extent.  In  the  in- 
terval, the  gospel  of  Melchior  Hoffman,  who  had  passed 
through  the  Lowlands  with  the  swiftness  of  a  meteoric 
flight,  had  deeply  stirred  the  masses.  His  announcement 
of  a  glorious  future,  bright  like  the  morning-star,  set  their 
souls  afire.  Trypmaker,  his  disciple,  had  taken  up  the 
task  of  inspiring  the  people,  after  the  master's  departure. 

And  now  "  Elijah  "  languished  in  prison  and  Tryp- 
maker had  fallen  a  martyr  to  the  cause.  Every  eye  was 
strained  to  see  the  signs  of  the  times,  every  ear  listened 
eagerly  to  catch  the  footfalls  of  the  coming  Redeemer. 
Thus  the  year  1533  passed  away.  Would  Hoffman's 
prophecy  be  fulfilled  and  would  the  promised  "  Enoch  " 
appear?  The  year  was  almost  passed,  when  first  in 
whispers,  then  like  a  clap  of  thunder  the  news  was  heard : 
"  He  has  come,  the  time  is  at  hand."  Trypmaker,  before 
his  death,  had  dropped  his  mantle  on  the  shoulders  of  the 


68  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

man  of  destiny,  and  that  man  was  a  baker  from  the  city 
of  Haarlem,  John  Matthysz,  who  startled  his  hearers 
by  solemnly  averring  that  he  was  the  expected  "  Enoch," 
and  thus  he  began  his  mission  of  death  and  revolution. 

He  started  out  comparatively  calmly,  but  soon  his  in- 
nate fanaticism  burst  out  in  lurid  flames,  as  he  boldly 
raised  the  cry,  "  Take  the  sword  and  slay,  the  unbe- 
lievers must  be  rooted  out."  At  the  start  he  met  with 
some  doubt  and  opposition,  but  in  a  little  while  his  fol- 
lowers were  completely  hypnotized  by  his  frenzied  ap- 
peals, and  soon  he  was  the  acknowledged  prophet  of  the 
Dutch  Anabaptists. 

He  was  a  man  of  unsavory  reputation,  but  of  great 
personal  magnetism  and  courage.  Tiring  of  his  aging 
wife  at  Haarlem,  he  had  hypnotized  a  beautiful  young 
woman  of  that  city,  the  daughter  of  a  respectable  brewer, 
and  persuaded  her  to  follow  him  to  Amsterdam.**  Thence 
he  sent  out  apostles,  whom  he  appointed,  two  by  two ;  and 
it  was  through  the  twain  sent  into  Vriesland,  Bartholo- 
mew Boeckbinder  and  Dirk  Cuyper,  that  the  link  was 
established  between  the  Matthysz- Anabaptists  and  the 
party  which  was  to  be  regenerated  through  the  labors  of 
Menno  Simons.  For  from  them  Obbe  Philips  received 
his  mission,  which  he  in  turn  handed  over  to  his  brother 
Derek  and  Menno  Simons,  who  were  destined  to  become 
the  leaders  of  the  reformed  Anabaptists. 

The  prophetic  promise  now  was  scattered  abroad,  "  that 
God  in  a  short  time  would  purge  the  earth  of  all  those 
who  shed  blood,  all  tyrants  and  unbelievers."  *® 

Meanwhile  all  eyes  were  turned  to  Miinster,  where  the 
Reformation  had  triumphed  and  where  great  things  might 
be  expected  for  the  fanatical  Anabaptists.    Among  the 

♦*  Slice.  Anab.,  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  30. 
«5Bek.  O.  Ph.,  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  129. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  69 

disciples  sent  out,  two  therefore  were  despatched  to  Miin- 
ster,  Gerritt  Boeckbinder  and  John  of  Leyden. 

1.  The  Miinster  Tragedy 

John  Matthysz  claimed  to  have  received  a  revelation 
that  this  city  was  destined  to  be  the  "  New  Jerusalem," 
not  Strassburg,  as  Hoffman  had  prophesied.  As  a  spark 
in  a  magazine,  this  news  acted  on  the  tense,  hysterical 
mood  of  his  adherents.  "Blind  masses  from  the  Low- 
lands, Westphalia,  and  East  Frisia,  following  their  inward 
compulsion,  began  to  march  to  Miinster,  there  to  take 
part  in  the  victory  of  the  believers."  *^  They  were  prom- 
ised that,  if  they  left  all,  they  would  not  lack  anything, 
their  shoes  would  not  wear  out,  their  clothes  would  be 
like  iron,  nor  need  they  care  for  any  sustenance;  for 
they  would  be  either  spiritually  nourished  or  food  would 
be  sent  to  them  from  heaven.*^ 

The  most  illuminating  recital  of  what  transpired  in 
Miinster,  between  1533  and  1535,  which  I  have  read, 
is  the  wonderful  book  of  Dr.  Ludwig  Keller,  Geschichte 
der  Wiedertaufer  und  ihres  Reichs  su  Munster.*^  He  has 
the  more  right  to  a  candid  hearing,  because  as  State 
archivarius  he  had  access  to  documents  hopelessly  be- 
yond the  reach  of  others.  Kersenbroick's  story,  as  that 
of  an  eye-witness,  heretofore  was  one  of  the  chief  sources 
for  all  research  work  in  this  direction.  But  as  he  had 
been  burgomaster  of  the  city  and  one  of  the  councilors, 
later  on  a  follower  of  John  of  Leyden,  and  yet  was  only 
exiled  after  the  fall  of  Miinster,  his  testimony  seems 
somewhat  clouded  and  open  to  suspicion.  A  more  reliable 
and  astonishingly  vivid  story  is  that  told  by  another  eye- 
witness, Hendrich  Dorpius,  in  1536,  reprinted  from  the 

*«  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  $7- 

«  B.  R.  N.,  VII.  32.  *»  Munster,  1880. 


70  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

original  by  Friedrich  Merschman,  in  1847.  Among  the 
addenda,  he  publishes  a  very  informing  letter  of  Anton 
Corvinus  to  Spalatin,  a  sort  of  report  of  the  success  of 
the  Hessian  mission,  which  was  sent  to  the  captive  "  king  " 
to  convert  him,  if  possible.  Doctor  Merschman  says  of 
the  story  of  Dorpius :  "  For  the  historian  it  is  invalua- 
ble, as  the  tale  of  an  eye-witness  and  from  the  mouths  of 
eye-witnesses ;  and  for  one  who  loves  to  study  the  present 
by  the  light  of  the  past,  it  shows,  as  in  a  mirror,  the 
communism  of  the  sixteenth  century.*'  Schlozer,  I  think, 
is  correct  in  surmising  that  Dorpius  was  one  of  the 
twenty-eight  apostles  who  were  sent  out  by  John  of 
Leyden,  when  the  siege  grew  bitter.  It  would  appear 
to  me  that  the  sentence,'*^  "  All  of  them  were  executed 
in  the  places  where  they  first  arrived,  except  one,  who 
was  saved  by  our  God,"  conclusively  points  to  the  author 
as  the  one  saved.  And  that  the  author  returned  to 
Protestantism  is  plain  from  his  words :  ^® 

Thereupon,  on  Friday,  St.  John's  day,  in  the  midst  of  the 
summer,  God  comes  and  destroys  this  hell  and  drives  the  devil 
out  of  it,  and  his  mother  (Mary)  comes  back  into  it.  .  .  And  on 
the  aforesaid  day,  when  the  city  was  taken  by  the  bishop,  the 
Anabaptists  were  torn  up  by  the  roots,  but  the  Papists  were 
planted  in  again. 

And  still  another  document  of  special  value  is  one  re- 
printed in  part  in  the  Bihliotheca,  only  three  copies  of 
which  are  known  to  remain.  Its  title  is  "  Restitution  of 
the  right  and  true  understanding  of  some  articles  of  the 
Christian  faith,  doctrine,  life,"  etc.^^  It  is  dated  1534, 
during  the  siege  of  the  city  by  the  bishop  therefore,  and 
is  from  the  hand  of  Rottman,  who  had  introduced  the 

*'  Die  Wiedert.  in  Miinster,  23.  ^  Idem,  25. 

^^  Restitutie  des  Rechten  ende  waerachtigen  Verstand.-;  Soomiger  Articu- 
ten  des  Christelyken  Geloofs,  Leere,  Levens,  etc.     B.  R.  N.,  VII,  559  p. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  71 

Reformation  in  Munster  and  later,  alas,  was  torn  from 
his  moorings  by  the  prevailing  fanaticism.  It  is  a  curious 
document  and  plainly  indicates  the  beginnings  of  the  hys- 
teria which  led  to  the  Miinster  drama. 

The  Anabaptists  began  to  arrive  after  he  had  preached 
there  three  of  four  years.  But  once  won  over  by  them, 
he  became  as  wild  a  fanatic  as  any  of  them.  In  this 
book  we  are  told  of  heavenly  voices,  of  weird  visions,  of 
a  man  seen  in  the  sky  with  a  crown  of  gold  and  a  sword 
in  his  right  hand  and  a  rod  in  the  left ;  and  of  another  man 
also  seen  in  the  heavens,  whose  hand  dripped  with  blood. 
He  tells  us  that,  when  they  were  baptized,  they  intended 
to  suffer  for  Christ's  sake,  but  that  they  had  changed  their 
mind,  by  the  will  of  God.  The  sword  now  had  become 
the  symbol  of  vengeance,  of  cleansing,  of  the  divine  gov- 
ernment in  the  earth. 

Rottman  remained  in  Munster  to  the  last.  But  in  the 
storm  and  massacre  of  the  city  he  mysteriously  disap- 
peared, his  body  was  not  found,  and  no  one  ever  knew 
what  became  of  him.  Presumably  he  was  killed  in  the 
final  assault  or  drowned  in  trying  to  cross  the  deep  moat. 
If  he  escaped  alive,  he  wisely  hid  himself  where  he  never 
could  be  found.  For  his  punishment,  had  he  been  caught 
alive,  would  have  equaled,  if  not  exceeded,  that  of  the 
"king." 

Keller  lays  down  these  doctrinal  principles,  as  funda- 
mental in  the  entire  early  Anabaptist  movement : 

1.  The  Church  must  go  back  to  apostolic  times. 

2.  She  must  build  on  the  Scriptures,  but  on  the  Old 
Testament  only  in  so  far  as  it  is  not  contradicted  by  the 
New  Testament.    The  latter  is  really  the  basis  of  faith. 

3.  The  internal  revelation  stands  by  the  side  of  the 
external.  The  relation  between  these  two,  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  movement,  was  in  debate  among  them. 


72  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

4.  Religion  is  all,  theology  is  of  small  account. 

5.  Faith  is  trust  in  God's  mercy  and  obedience  to  his 
will. 

6.  Justification  is  necessary  for  the  existence  of  faith, 
but  faith  without  works  cannot  save  us. 

7.  Heaven  and  hell  were  of  small  account;  in  their 
earlier  days  at  least  the  Anabaptists  were  strongly  in- 
clined to  universalism. 

8.  There  is  no  original  sin. 

9.  They  denied  the  Trinity,  either  directly  or  by  im- 
plication. 

10.  They  had  strange  views  concerning  the  incarnation. 

11.  Also  about  the  Supper. 

12.  They  were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination. 

13.  They  believed  in  liberty  of  conscience;  yet  among 
themselves  they  banned  those  who  differed  from  the 
others  on  the  slightest  pretext. 

14.  The  rejection  of  infant  baptism  and  the  insistence 
on  that  of  adults,  on  profession  of  faith,  was  the  funda- 
mental creed  of  the  entire  sect. 

Viewed  socially  and  politically  their  ideals  were  sub- 
versive of  all  existing  standards : 

1.  Communism  prevailed  in  the  oldest  types.  This  was 
notably  so  among  the  group  which  took  part  in  the  Miin- 
ster  tragedy,  but  it  revealed  itself  elsewhere  as  well.  It 
was  unquestionably  a  relic  of  Miinzerism. 

2.  A  true  Christian  needs  no  magistrate. 

3.  So  long,  however,  as  men  are  sinful,  magistrates  may 
be  necessary  and  should  be  obeyed.  This  doctrine  pre- 
vailed also  among  the  Mennonites  or  Doopsgezinden. 

4.  A  sharp  social  division  between  believers  and  unbe- 
lievers should  be  maintained. 

5.  No  military  service. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  73 

6.  No  oath  under  any  conditions. 

This  is  the  general  view  of  Anabaptism,  as  Keller 
saw  it.  We  shall  study  the  theology  of  the  Anabaptists 
more  in  detail  later  on,  and  we  shall  see  in  how  far  Keller 
has  given  a  true  outline  of  their  faith  and  views  of  life 
and  society.  But  take  this  outline,  as  here  given;  sift 
out  what  is  good,  retain  what  is  bad,  multiply  it  a  hun- 
dredfold, and  blow  on  it  the  hottest  breath  of  fanaticism ; 
throw  over  it  a  cloud  of  crude  chiliasm,  and  you  have  the 
foundation  of  the  Munster  tragedy. 

Its  story  in  detail  would  fill  a  volume ;  I  can  only  etch 
it  in  outline,  with  a  few  strokes  of  the  pen. 

Miinster  had  rebelled  against  its  bishop,  had  thrown 
off  the  yoke  of  the  past,  and  had  accepted  the  Reforma- 
tion. Bernard  Rottman  had  become  its  spokesman, 
wholly  against  the  will  of  the  magistrates,  but  with  the 
powerful  backing  of  the  populace.  His  preaching  almost 
from  the  beginning  betrayed  a  communistic  and  Ana- 
baptistic  cast.  A  small  trickle  of  the  Anabaptist  sect  had 
begun  to  filter  into  the  city.  On  November  2,  1533,  the 
preaching  of  Rottman  caused  a  riot  among  the  people, 
and  three  days  later  it  was  decided  to  exile  the  trouble- 
some preacher  from  the  city,  together  with  all  his  fol- 
lowers. The  interference  of  Bernard  Knipperdolling, 
one  of  the  burgomasters,  frustrated  this  plan  and  crushed 
the  Catholic  reaction.  Three  parties  now  were  formed: 
the  Anabaptists,  whose  number  grew  day  by  day,  the 
Catholics,  and  the  Council  party.  The  last  held  the  city 
hall.  A  bloody  conflict  was  narrowly  averted  by  the  com- 
promise of  November  6,  under  which  general  religious 
liberty  was  granted. 

But  among  the  Anabaptists  in  the  city,  Miinzerism 
and  the  Hoffmanite  chiliasm  now  began  to  work  like  a 
leaven,  and  a  new  sect  of  Anabaptists  was  born,  wholly 


74  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

distinct  from  the  general  body,  of  which  it  was  a  wild 
offshoot.  The  sentence  pronounced  against  Hoffman  at 
Strassburg  and  his  incarceration  seems  to  have  fanned 
the  chiHastic  enthusiasm  into  a  lurid  flame.  Bands  of 
Anabaptists  continued  to  arrive  and  a  smith,  Johann 
Schroeder,  openly  began  to  make  propaganda  for  the 
new  fanaticism.  He  was  imprisoned,  but  immediately 
liberated  by  an  angry  mob,  December  16.  The  Anabap- 
tists now  began  to  aspire  to  the  mastery  in  the  city. 

On  January  13,  1534,  John  of  Leyden,  with  a  fellow 
emissary  of  John  Matthysz,  Gerthom  Klooster  (what  be- 
came of  the  man  Boeckbinder,  orginally  sent  out  with 
him  to  Miinster,  is  not  known),  arrived  in  the  city.  They 
preached  a  new  gospel.  "  The  baptized  and  elect  were 
henceforth,  under  the  rule  of  Christ,  to  live  a  happy  life, 
in  communion  of  goods,  without  laws,  without  govern- 
ment, and  without  marriage."  ^^ 

John  of  Leyden,  or  as  his  proper  name  is,  Jan  Beukel- 
szoon  van  Leyden,  at  that  time  was  about  twenty-five 
years  old.  He  was  born  out  of  wedlock  of  a  Miinster 
woman.  A  few  months  before,  he  was  converted  under 
the  fiery  preaching  of  John  Matthysz,  at  Leyden.  He  was 
there  baptized  and  immediately  sent  out  as  an  apostle, 
naturally  to  Miinster,  his  mother's  city.  He  was  hand- 
some, a  glib  talker,  an  adept  at  theatricals,  through  his 
training  in  the  rhetorical  chambers  of  Holland,  and,  above 
all,  he  had  a  forehead  of  brass. 

After  familiarizing  himself  with  the  situation,  he  first 
of  all  succeeded  in  getting  a  proper  social  standing  by 
marrying,  by  what  hypnotic  art  we  know  not,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Knipperdolling.  In  an  inconceivably  quick  time 
Roll,  Knipperdolling,  and  Rottman  were  his  willing  tools. 
Hundreds  of  people  were  baptized  by  night,  in  secret 

62  Keller,  Gesch.  d.  Wiedert.,  136. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  75 

Anabaptist  meetings.  Conditions  now  began  to  be  hectic 
in  the  city.  On  February  9,  1534,  an  attempt  was  made 
to  surprise  the  city  by  an  armed  band  of  shouting  Ana- 
baptists; which  was  suppressed  with  great  difficulty  by 
another  compromise. 

Meanwhile  Anabaptists  were  marching  on  Miinster 
from  every  direction.  On  March  21  thirty  ships  filled 
with  them  left  Amsterdam  and  anchored  near  Genemui- 
den.  Four  days  later,  three  thousand  men,  women,  and 
children  arrived  in  twenty-one  other  ships.  The  attempts 
of  these  hordes  to  join  the  Miinster  Anabaptists  were 
bloodily  repulsed  by  the  Dutch  Government  and  hundreds 
of  these  fanatics  were  ruthlessly  killed.  But  others  kept 
coming,  and  other  cities  of  the  diocese  of  Miinster  were 
beginning  to  feel  the  strain  and  taint  of  the  fanaticism 
which  was  in  the  air.  Only  by  the  sternest  measures, 
Warendorf,  Soest,  and  Osnabriick  were  saved  from  Miin- 
ster's  fate.  Everywhere  the  same  symptoms,  the  same 
extravagant  chiliasm,  the  same  stealthy  meetings  in  the 
dead  of  night  and  multitudinous  conversions,  the  same 
projected  violence. 

Miinster  now  had  become  a  cave  of  Adullam.  It  was 
said  in  the  instructions  to  the  Keistag  at  Cologne :  "  All 
fugitives,  exiles,  and  felons,  within  and  without  the  see 
of  Miinster,  are  gathered  there."  The  city  had  become 
the  rendezvous  of  shady  characters  of  every  type,  who, 
under  the  cloak  of  religion,  sought  to  further  their  own 
nefarious  ends.  "All  the  evil  passions  in  human  life 
were  exhibited  in  '  the  holy  kingdom  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem '  at  Miinster."  ^^ 

On  February  24,  1534,  a  terrible  iconoclastic  wave 
passed  over  the  city.  The  great  Minster,  the  bishop's 
own  church,  was  ruthlessly  sacked;  altars,  images,  and 

«»  Keller,  Gesch.  d.  W.,  196. 


76  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

baptismal  fonts  were  broken  into  fragmer.is,  the  bones  of 
the  saints  were  desecrated;  monasteries  and  convents 
were  spoliated,  and  the  invaluable  library  of  the  Minster 
was  destroyed  by  fire. 

Three  days  later  the  reign  of  terror  began.  An  armed 
mob  ran  through  the  city  shouting,  "  Out  with  you,  ye 
unbelievers,  God  will  awake  and  destroy  you."  Prac- 
tically all  who  were  not  Anabaptists  left  the  city,  and 
their  goods  were  immediately  confiscated.  All  who  re- 
mained and  were  yet  unbaptized  submitted  to  the  rite,  and 
by  March  2,  1534,  not  an  unbeliever  remained  in  the  city. 
The  "  Holy  Jerusalem  "  had  been  established. 

Meanwhile  the  prophet  "  Enoch,"  John  Matthysz,  had 
arrived  in  Miinster  and  had  assumed  the  chief  leadership. 

In  the  same  week  the  bishop  laid  siege  to  the  city,  but 
the  fanatic  Anabaptists  laughed  him  and  his  allies  to 
scorn.  Was  not  God  on  their  side,  and  would  not  Christ 
soon  appear,  in  glorious  majesty,  to  crush  and  disperse 
their  enemies? 

A  system  of  absolute  communism  was  now  intro- 
duced, all  money  and  all  valuables  were  deposited  in  a 
designated  house,  on  pain  of  death  to  those  who  refused 
to  obey  the  order.  And  thus  the  whole  population  of 
Miinster  was  enslaved  to  the  Anabaptist  leaders.  Rubert 
Riischer,  who  had  dared  to  laugh  at  all  these  pretensions 
and  decrees,  was  shot  down  in  cold  blood  by  "  Enoch  " 
himself. 

But  the  days  of  this  second  "  witness  "  were  numbered ; 
for  on  the  fourth  of  April,  in  an  excess  of  fanaticism,  he 
left  the  city  with  a  handful  of  volunteers  to  disperse  the 
besiegers,  as  he  claimed,  by  divine  command.  He  fought 
like  a  lion,  but  was  overpowered  and  slain,  and  his  poor 
remains  were  brought  back  into  the  city  in  a  basket. 

On  the  same  day  John  of  Leyden  assumed  the  leader- 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  77 

ship,  and,  at  hi.  suggestion,  twelve  elders  were  appointed 
to  rule  the  people.  Their  power  was  only  an  apparent 
one,  for  John  ruled  the  city  with  a  high  hand  and  did  not 
tolerate  much  intervention  from  any  one. 

Things  speedily  went  from  bad  to  worse.  On  July  23 
the  institution  of  polygamy  was  solemnly  announced; 
John  of  Leyden  setting  the  example  by  marrying  the 
widow  or  rather  the  mistress  of  his  late  chief.  The 
decree  was  received  with  acclaim  by  the  mass  of  the 
fanatics;  and,  in  this  connection,  Dorpius  mentions  in- 
iquities which  strangely  remind  us  of  the  press  reports  of 
the  sexual  regulations  of  the  Russian  Bolsheviki. 

The  better-minded  remnants  of  the  former  inhabitants 
of  the  city,  under  the  leadership  of  Heinrich  Mollenbeke, 
rebelled  against  this  condition  of  affairs.  The  party  of 
insurgents  numbered  about  two  hundred  men,  and  they 
actually  succeeded  in  capturing  John  of  Leyden,  Knipper- 
dolling,  Rottman,  and  thirty  other  leaders  of  the  Anabap- 
tists ;  but  after  a  desperate  battle  they  were  overpowered 
by  numbers.  The  survivors  were  massacred  to  the  last 
man. 

John  of  Leyden  now  had  absolute  control  of  the  entire 
situation.  The  fortune  of  war  seemed  to  smile  on  him, 
and  his  popularity  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds ;  and  when, 
on  August  31,  1534,  the  attacking  forces  of  Bishop  Frans 
had  been  decisively  repulsed,  Diesentschur,  one  of  the 
newly  appointed  elders,  in  a  hysterical  address,  proclaimed 
the  kingdom  of  the  New  Jerusalem  and  dramatically 
pointed  to  John  of  Leyden  as  the  new  King  David,  and 
the  latter  was  unanimously  acclaimed  as  such. 

The  twelve  elders,  much  to  the  surprise  of  his  sponsor, 
were  now  deposed  from  office,  and  John  became  the  auto- 
crat of  Miinster,  an  honor  for  which  he  had  long  and 
arduously    plotted.      As    Hoffman   had    claimed   to    be 


78  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

"  Elijah  "  and  Matthysz  "  Enoch,"  so  John  now  arrogated 
to  himself  the  proud  title,  "  King  David,"  bestowed  on 
him  by  a  semilunatic. 

I  have  said  before  that  John  of  Leyden  was  a  con- 
summate actor.  Hear  what  he  has  to  say  on  the  day  of 
his  election: 

God  has  chosen  me  to  be  king  of  all  the  world.  But  I  tell 
you  I  had  rather  been  a  swineherd  or  followed  the  plow  than 
to  be  king,  dear  brethren  and  sisters.  But  what  I  do  I  must 
do,  for  God  has  chosen  me  for  it. 

John  significantly  retained  for  himself  the  office  of 
chief  executioner,  but  Knipperdolling  became  his  stad- 
holder,  Rottman,  his  royal  orator.  Other  high-sounding, 
but  really  meaningless  dignities  were  liberally  distributed 
among  his  favorites,  as  it  pleased  the  king. 

His  highest  ambition  had  been  attained,  he  had  become 
the  incarnation  of  the  chiliastic  dreams  of  his  fanatical 
followers. 

The  new  kingdom  was  established  with  great  pomp. 
An  imperial  crown  of  gold  was  made  for  "  King  David  " ; 
he  wore  a  golden  chain  about  his  neck,  from  which  a  ball 
of  gold  was  suspended,  pierced  with  two  swords,  symbol- 
ical of  world  dominion.  A  scepter  of  gold,  studded  with 
jewels,  was  ever  in  his  hand;  and  Divarra  of  Haarlem, 
John  Matthysz's  widow,  became  the  chief  queen.  Other 
queens,  from  eleven  to  seventeen,  as  the  chroniclers  say, 
shared  her  glory.  On  the  market-place  a  throne  was 
set  up,  and  there  he  judged  the  people. 

But  the  siege  inclosed  the  city  ever  more  closely;  the 
bishop  having  abandoned  the  costly  attempts  to  take 
Miinster  by  force  and  now  entirely  depending  on  famine 
as  his  chief  ally.  Nor  was  he  wrong  in  this  change  of 
policy.    In  the  palace  all  was  glitter  and  abundance  and 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  79 

luxury,  whilst  hunger  and  suffering  slowly  began  to 
stalk  about  the  city.  Knipperdolling,  perhaps  resenting 
the  humiliation  of  his  daughter,  who  was  John's  legiti- 
mate wife,  resented  the  new  order  of  things,  yet  dared 
not  openly  rebel,  though  he  succeeded  in  artfully  under- 
mining the  king's  authority.  He  finally  proclaimed  him- 
self the  "  spiritual "  as  John  was  the  "  physical "  king 
of  Zion. 

The  last  days  of  1534  were  the  heydays  of  the  glory 
of  the  "  New  Jerusalem,"  even  though  ominous  clouds, 
portentous  of  evil,  were  hovering  on  the  distant  hori- 
zon. At  a  great  public  festival,  at  which  John  parodied 
the  Lord's  Supper,  he  solemnly  sent  out  twenty-eight 
apostles  to  the  neighboring  cities.  They  succeeded  in  get- 
ting through  the  besieging  army  of  Bishop  Frans  and  ar- 
rived at  their  various  destinations.  But  there  they 
perished  at  the  hands  of  the  executioner — "  all  but  one." 
That  single  exception,  as  we  have  seen,  was  undoubtedly 
Dorpius,  who  left  us  so  vivid  a  narrative  of  the  Miinster 
tragedy. 

On  September  25,  1534,  Elisabeth  Holschen,  one  of  the 
queens,  was  publicly  decapitated  by  John,  for  interfering 
with  her  husband,  "as  an  example  to  the  wives  of  the 
city.'*  Her  only  fault  was  this,  that  she  had  called  the 
attention  of  the  king  to  the  luxury  of  the  palace,  as 
compared  with  the  growing  destitution  in  the  city. 

The  courage  of  the  besieged,  however,  was  unabated; 
they  resisted  the  bishop  heroically,  made  many  successful 
sallies,  and  harried  the  enemy  day  and  night.  But  all 
importation  of  food  was  prohibited  by  the  close  invest- 
ment of  the  city,  and  day  by  day  the  scant  supplies 
dwindled.  All  flour  and  corn  were  now  collected  and 
doled  out  in  small  rations  to  the  populace.  The  king 
alone  fared  well,  as  did  his  court ;  and  after  the  taking  of 


80  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

the  city,  plentiful  supplies  were  found  stacked  up  in  the 
"  palace."  But  hunger  will  not  be  denied,  and  murmur- 
ings  of  the  people  began  to  reach  the  royal  ears;  he  re- 
sorted therefore  to  dreams  and  visions  to  bolster  up  the 
declining  fanaticism;  and  one  night,  only  half  clad  or 
as  others  say  wholly  naked,  he  ran  through  the  city,  shout- 
ting,  "  Rejoice,  O  Israel,  thy  salvation  draweth  nigh." 
Everything  that  ingenuity  could  devise  was  done  to  fan 
the  dying  embers  into  flame  again  and  to  turn  the  popu- 
lace of  the  city  from  the  contemplation  of  the  inevitable. 
And  for  a  while  he  succeeded.  A  strange  psychology 
this — a  whole  people  hypnotized  by  one  man !  There  were 
attempts  at  rebellion — that  was  inevitable — but  all  such 
attempts  were  crushed  out  in  blood.  Of  treason  very 
little  revealed  itself  till  the  very  end,  but  many  tried  to 
escape  from  the  doomed  city,  only  to  meet  a  worse  fate 
at  the  hands  of  their  implacable  enemies.  History  records 
but  few  instances  of  a  more  heroic  defense  in  the  face  of 
impossible  odds.  The  resistance  made  by  these  untrained 
warriors  had  been  magnificent.  But  the  siege  was  not 
raised,  and  the  famine  in  the  city  grew  ever  more  deadly. 

New  emissaries  were  now  sent  out  from  the  city,  with 
pitiful  cries  for  succor,  some  of  whom  escaped  the  en- 
circling enemy  and  did  their  work  well,  as  is  indicated  by 
the  popular  unrest,  in  the  winter  of  1534-1535,  in  a  wide 
radius  about  Miinster.  Four  armies  were  planned  to 
raise  the  siege  of  the  city,  which  were  all  to  meet  at 
designated  spots  in  Holland.  The  attempts  to  assemble 
them  were  actually  made,  as  the  historical  facts  witness, 
but  they  failed  of  execution  through  the  watchfulness 
of  the  Dutch  government. 

Finally  the  crisis  came. 

The  city  was  betrayed  by  one  Heinrich  Grossbeck, 
who  was  attempting  to  escape  from  the  inferno  and  was 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  81 

captured,  but  spared  on  condition  that  he  show  the  weak 
place  in  the  defenses.  He  did  so  and  actually  reentered 
the  city  at  the  spot  indicated.  Another  man,  Hans  Eck, 
formerly  a  servant  of  the  bishop,  then  a  deserter  to  "  King 
David,"  now  made  an  attempt  to  be  reconciled  with  his 
master  by  betraying  the  city  into  his  hands.  And  strange 
to  say,  he  pointed  out  the  very  spot,  as  most  vulnerable 
in  the  defenses  of  the  city,  which  had  been  indicated  by 
Grossbeck.  The  two  therefore  cooperated  in  the  final 
surprise  of  Miinster. 

By  April  conditions  in  the  city  had  become  appalling; 
every  living  animal  and  every  green  thing  in  it  had  been 
devoured  by  the  ravenous  people;  death  only  remained, 
either  by  famine  or  the  sword. 

On  this  doomed  city  the  army  of  Bishop  Frans  de- 
scended, in  a  surprise  attack,  on  June  25,  1535.  Those 
who  first  entered  the  city  were  in  imminent  danger  of 
being  wholly  wiped  out,  for  the  Anabaptists  defended 
themselves  with  the  courage  of  despair.  But  relief  came 
in  time,  and  after  terrific  street-fighting,  the  city  was 
taken,  and  all  Anabaptists  caught  with  arms  in  their  hands 
were  ruthlessly  killed.  The  whole  place  was  literally 
drenched  with  blood.  Queen  Divarra  and  several  others 
of  the  harem  of  "  King  David  "  were  taken  alive  and  be- 
headed. 

John  of  Leyden,  a  coward  and  poltroon  to  the  last,  tried 
to  escape  from  the  city,  but  was  captured,  alive  and  wholly 
unwounded ;  so  were  also  Knipperdolling  and  Krechting. 
All  of  them  like  cowards  had  left  their  people  to  their 
fate,  thinking  only  of  their  own  miserable  lives.  Far 
better  had  they  died,  arms  in  hand  at  the  head  of  their 
fighting  men.  Rottman  had  disappeared  as  by  magic  and 
was  never  seen  or  heard  of  again.  The  city  since  that 
day  has  stood  loyal  to  its  ancient  traditions. 

F 


82  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

The  captured  king  was  led  from  town  to  town,  with  a 
double  chain  about  his  neck,  fastened  to  a  horseman  on 
either  side,  bareheaded  and  barefoot,  for  the  sport  of 
the  people.  He  was  incarcerated  in  a  strong  castle,  at  a 
little  distance  from  Miinster,  called  Bevern.  And  there 
he  was  visited  by  a  commission  of  Philip  of  Hessia,  who 
had  supported  the  bishop  in  the  siege  and  capture  of  the 
city,  consisting  of  Corvinus  and  Kymaeus,  who  tried  to 
find  out  the  exact  doctrinal  position  of  the  Miinster 
Anabaptists  and  who  discussed  with  him  certain  points 
of  his  belief. 

The  result  was  meager  and  the  theology  of  John  was 
negligible.  And  yet  we  learn  more  about  the  actual  be- 
liefs of  the  Miinster  fanatics  from  this  document  than 
perhaps  from  any  other  source. 

As  to  the  right  of  rebellion  John  of  Leyden  held 
the  exact  position  of  Thomas  Miinzer ;  any  people  had  the 
right  to  rebel  against  a  government  which  refused  to  obey 
the  gospel  of  Christ  and  to  rule  accordingly.  As  to  justi- 
fication, he  had  apparently  the  haziest  possible  views  him- 
self, but  he  professed  a  willingness  to  accept  the.  Lutheran 
view. 

On  one  point  he  stood  absolutely  firm  and  that  was 
infant  baptism,  which  was  to  be  utterly  rejected.  On 
the  Lord's  Supper  he  had  the  vaguest  possible  views.  In 
regard  to  the  incarnation  he  held  the  common  Anabaptist 
belief  that  Christ  had  not  taken  his  human  body  from 
Mary.  And  in  regard  to  polygamy,  he  saw  no  sin  in 
that  at  all,  since  the  Bible  saints  had  practised  it. 

No  one  can  read  this  story  of  Corvinus  without  sensing 
very  clearly  that  John  of  Leyden  was  no  theologian.  He 
had  no  deep,  immovable  foundations  of  any  kind.  He 
was  the  man  of  the  hour,  a  born  opportunist,  egoistic 
and  self-centered  to  the  core,  a  buffoon  and  a  harlequin 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  83 

to  the  last.  He  was  evidently  willing  to  make  concessions 
to  save  his  life,  and  he  promised  the  commission,  if  set 
free,  to  cause  all  Anabaptists  to  modify  their  Christo- 
logical  views.  As  to  polygamy,  he  grandiosely  announced 
that  he  was  willing  to  consider  it  a  moot  point,  to  be  held 
in  suspense,  till  the  whole  Church  had  decided  it  to  be 
permissible. 

Poor  buffoon!  To  the  very  last  he  evidently  deluded 
himself  with  the  hope  of  escape,  than  which  nothing  was 
further  from  the  minds  of  his  captors.  All  three  were 
condemned  to  death  for  lese-majesty  and  insurrection; 
the  question  of  heresy  did  not  even  enter  into  the  con- 
sideration of  their  guilt.  They  were  condemned  simply 
on  political  grounds,  which  of  course  was  inevitable  on 
account  of  the  mixed  character  of  the  court.  They  were 
inhumanly  tortured  to  death,  by  having  the  flesh  torn 
from  their  bodies  with  red-hot  pincers.  Yet  not  one 
of  them  gave  a  sign  of  pain.  John  said,  as  the  torture 
began,  "  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit." 
Further  than  that,  no  sound  till  his  death.  Knipperdol- 
ling  is  said  to  have  prayed,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me,  a 
sinner."  Beyond  that  an  unbroken  silence.  Krechting 
called  out  twice,  "  O  Father,  O  Father,"  but  nothing 
more. 

The  effect  of  this  execution  on  the  spectators  was  un- 
canny; it  made  the  impression  of  corpses  being  violated. 
Was  it  stoicism,  courage,  fanaticism,  hardness  of  heart, 
or  faith?    Who  can  tell  us? 

Their  remains,  enclosed  in  three  iron  cages,  were 
swung  from  the  tower  of  St.  Lambert.  There  they  still 
hang,^*  although  the  few  remaining  bones  were  perhaps 
removed  some  years  ago.^'' 

"  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  59. 

w  Vedder,  "  Ref .  in  Germ.,"  348. 


84  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Thus  ended  the  Miinster  tragedy. 

Ended,  do  I  say?  No,  it  was  only  the  beginning  of 
the  real  tragedy,  for  the  sins  of  the  Miinster  fanatics 
were  visited  on  countless  thousands  of  martyrs  of  the 
Anabaptist  faith,  innocent  of  any  participation  in  the 
crime  of  Miinster,  abhorring  it  even  with  unspeakable 
loathing;  yet,  on  account  of  the  similarity  of  name  and 
faith,  falling  under  a  common  condemnation  with  the 
Munster  fanatics. 

2.  Revolutionary  Movements  in  Holland    -f  ) 

The  fanaticism  offjohn  Matthysz  had  spread  like  wild- 
fire all  over  the  Netfierlands.  Ypey  and  Dermout  draw  a 
vivid  picture  of  prevailing  conditions  during  this  period. 
The  very  air  seemed  filled  with  the  wildest  and  most  hys- 
terical notions:®® 

^  Christ  was  to  appear  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  to  establish  him 
(John  Matthysz)  in  his  royal  dignity.  He  would  cast  the 
pope  of  Rome,  as  the  Antichrist,  from  his  throne,  and  in  "his 
place  he  would  solemnly  appoint  him  as  the  head  of  the  Church. 
Then  only  it  would  appear  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  was  not 
of  this  world.  In  the  fullest  sense  it  would .  be  a  heavenly 
kingdom,  whose  subjects  would  find  here  a  heaven  on  earth. 
The  New  Jerusalem  would  descend  from  heaven,  and  the  end 
of  the  state  of  man  would  be  as  the  beginning.)  The  earth 
would  be  a  paradise  of  purest  sensuality,  of  which  the  enjoy- 
ment was  incapable  of  description.  The  loss  of  moral  power 
would  thereby  be  completely  restored,  and  no  corruption  of 
morals  would  ever  again  be  able  to  vitiate  humanity. 

The  authors  then  tell  us  how  this  Mohammedan  escha- 
tology  captured  the  hearts  of  men,  especially  young  men, 
who  scarcely  knew  what  they  were  doing.  They  offered 
themselves  for  baptism  in  masses,  and  they  went  forth  to 

'^  Sleidani  Comm.,  Lib.  X,  p.  157,  note  94;  Gesch.  d.  Ned.  Herv.  Kerk, 
I,  124,  125. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  85 

attain  the  ideal  pictured  to  them.  They  had  no  experi- 
ence of  war ;  they  knew  little  of  life ;  they  were  hypnotized 
by  the  picture  presented  to  them — that  was  all. 

By  far  the  majority  were  not  Anabaptists;  they 
simply  joined  their  ranks  for  what  this  joining  might 
bring  them.  Most  of  them,  at  heart,  had  no  religion  at 
all ;  but  the  result  was  the  same.  Bands  of  armed  Ana- 
baptists appeared,  as  by  magic,  everywhere  in  the  Low- 
lands. At  Amsterdam,  at  't  Zand,  at  Bloemkamp  they 
created  terrible  disturbances  and  seemed  to  be  filled  with 
a  spirit  of  malicious  deviltry.  But  everywhere  they  were 
dispersed  by  the  authorities,  and  their  leaders  were  cruelly 
punished.  And  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  practically  all 
these  disturbances  coincide  with  the  occurrences  in  Miin- 
ster  during  the  last  stage  of  the  siege ;  and  that  they  are 
evidently  vitally  connected  with  the  final  desperate  at- 
tempt made  by  John  of  Leyden  to  obtain  succor  for  the 
sorely  tried  "  New  Jerusalem."  The  death  of  Matthysz 
and  the  inevitable  collapse  of  the  kingdom  seemed  un- 
able to  dampen  the  ardor  of  the  fanatics. 

On  January  23,  1535,  an  attempt  was  made  to  surprise 
and  burn  Leyden.  A  month  later,  a  party  of  fanatic  Ana- 
baptists took  Oude  Klooster,  near  Bolsward,  and  were 
there  besieged  and  practically  exterminated  by  the  stad- 
holder  of  Frisia.  About  the  same  time  the  riot  at 't  Zand, 
in  the  province  of  Groningen,  took  place;  and  on  the 
tenth  of  May  a  serious  attempt  was  made  by  the  Ana- 
baptists to  get  possession  of  Amsterdam,  the  chief  city  of 
Holland. 

An  earlier  attempt  on  this  city  had  been  made,  a  year 
before,  April  21,  1534.  A  large  fleet,  filled  with  Anabap- 
tists, had  been  held  at  this  city,  as  they  were  ready  to 
start  for  Munster.  Asked  "  whither  they  went,"  they 
replied,  "  To  the  land  that  God  will  show  us."   But  the 


86  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

next  day  the  city  was  startled  by  the  appearance  of  five 
men,  stark  naked,  who  ran  about  the  streets,  with  naked 
swords  in  their  hands,  shouting:  ''In  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  God's  blessing  is  on  the  right  side  and  his  curse 
on  the  left  side  of  the  city.  Repent,  repent,  woe  to  all 
unbelievers."  They  were  apprehended  and  summarily 
executed.  Justice  moved  quickly  in  those  days.  By  en- 
ergetic measures  Amsterdam  was  saved  at  that  time  from 
an  overt  attack,  because  the  authorities  were  warned  of 
the  coming  storm.^^ 

The  projected  attempt  on  Ley  den  was  discovered,  either 
at  Amsterdam  or  by  the  castellan  of  the  fortress  of 
Woerden,  January  23,  1535.  The  city  was  to  be  set  on 
fire  in  several  places  and  during  the  disturbance  the 
effort  to  take  it  was  to  be  made.  An  immediate  house- 
to-house  visitation  discovered  fifteen  men  and  five  women 
who  were  implicated  in  the  plot.  All  of  these,  after  a 
complete  confession  of  their  intentions,  were  immediately 
executed,  the  men  being  beheaded,  the  women  drowned. 

A  similar  attempt  on  the  city  of  Dordt  was  discovered 
and  frustrated  at  the  same  time.^^ 

In  the  same  year  one  of  the  weirdest  occurrences  of 
the  disturbed  times  took  place  at  't  Zand.  It  was  the 
climax  of  Anabaptist  fanaticism  in  Holland.  The  chief 
agents — we  are  told  the  whole  story  in  detail  in  the 
Bibliotheca — were  Herman  Shoemaker,  who  claimed  to 
be  "  the  true  prophet,  the  veritable  Messiah,  yea  the 
Father  himself,"  and  Cornelius  Kerkhof,  a  much  younger 
man,  who  associated  himself  with  the  other  and  claimed 
to  be  the  Son.  Shoemaker  lay  in  bed  all  day,  in  a  half 
nude  condition,  with  a  keg  of  beer  by  his  side,  from  which 
he  frequently  slaked  his  burning  thirst,  for  he  was  hoarse 

^  Wagenaar,  Vaderl.  Hist.  V,  75- 
^  Wagenaar,  Vad.  Hist.,  V,  88. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  87 

with  crying,  "  Kill,  kill,  kill,  monks  and  priests  and  all 
magistrates,  our  magistrates  first  of  all."  For  two  days 
he  raged  in  this  insane  way,  but  apparently  he  made  an 
impression  and  his  fanaticism  touched  many  as  with  a 
virulent  contagion.  During  the  night,  one  of  the  coldest 
of  the  winter,  three  hundred  people  were  baptized  in 
the  open  air.  The  frenzied  people  were  willing  and  ready 
to  follow  the  two  self-appointed  leaders  anywhere  and  for 
any  purpose,  when  suddenly  Antony  Kistemaker,  one  of 
the  men  sent  out  from  Miinster,  appeared  on  the  scene 
and,  dreading  the  effect  of  the  blasphemous  pair  on  the 
plans  of  Zion,  assaulted  the  "  Son  "  and  drove  him  from 
the  place.  The  people  seeing  their  idol  so  easily  cast 
down,  at  once  sided  with  the  newcomer  and  with  him 
turned  on  Shoemaker,  whom  they  seized,  bound  with 
cords,  and  thus  left  him  on  the  floor  of  his  house  to  sober 
up.  There  the  wretch  was  found  by  the  constabulary, 
who  had  been  advised  of  the  disturbance  and  had  been 
sent  to  quell  it.  After  a  terrific  resistance  he  was  finally 
secured  and  brought  to  the  city  of  Groningen,  where  he 
was  tortured  to  death,  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  wring 
from  him  the  names  of  his  accomplices.  The  only  words 
he  spoke  were  those  of  his  old  battle-cry,  "  Kill,  kill,  kill 
monks  and  priests  and  all  magistrates,  ours  first  of  all."  ^' 
Incidents  like  this  indicate  the  excessively  inflammable 
condition  of  the  public  mind. 

One  of  the  Miinster  emissaries  was  Jan  van  Geelen 
who,  true  to  his  commission,  gathered  together  a  band 
of  three  hundred  Anabaptists  and  in  the  latter  part  of 
February,  1535,  made  an  armed  assault  on  a  strongly 
defensible  position,  near  the  city  of  Bolsward,  in  Frisia, 
called  Het  Oude  Klooster  ("  The  Old  Monastery  ") .  The 
place  was  easily  taken,  the  monks  driven  out,  and  the 

6»  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  362  p. 


88  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

church  sacked.  Presumably  Van  Geelen  intended  f  o  make 
this  spot  the  rallying-point  for  one  of  the  armies  of  succor 
for  the  distressed  city  of  Miinster.  But  he  had  to  deal 
with  a  stern  man,  Jurgen  Schenk,  the  stadholder  of  the 
province.  The  latter  quickly  raised  a  small  army  and, 
after  a  sanguinary  assault,  succeeded  in  storming  the  posi- 
tion, putting  practically  the  whole  band  of  Anabaptists 
to  the  sword.  Among  those  who  died  there  was  the 
brother  of  Menno  Simons,  the  reorganizer  of  the  sect 
of  the  Anabaptists.  Among  the  few  who  escaped  was 
the  arch-plotter  of  the  whole  undertaking,  Jan  Van 
Geelen.«« 

He  had  one  more  eiTort  in  reserve,  and  that  the  most 
serious  of  all,  the  second  attempt  on  the  city  of  Amster- 
dam.   Here  he  was  destined  to  shoot  his  final  bolt. 

Amsterdam  was  evidently  honeycombed  with  treason. 
Especially  among  the  lower  classes  Anabaptists  had  a 
considerable  following,  and  they  were  only  waiting  for 
proper  leadership  to  make  their  power  felt.  How  great 
was  the  tension  among  this  class,  as  they  lay  hidden 
here  and  there  in  the  city,  appears  from  a  bit  of  virulent 
fanaticism,  preserved  for  us  by  Wagenaar.  Some  time 
before  the  attempt  was  made  on  the  city,  he  tells  us,  a 
company  of  seven  men  and  five  women,  led  by  Dirk  de 
Snyder,  after  an  exciting  meeting,  in  which  Dirk  claimed 
to  have  seen  the  glory  of  God,  deliberately  stripped  off 
all  their  garments  and  thus  ran  out  into  the  streets  of  the 
city,  shouting  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  "  Woe,  woe,  woe, 
the  vengeance  of  God."  All  except  one  woman  were 
at  once  apprehended.  Without  doubt,  they  were  Ana- 
baptists of  the  following  of  the  House  of  Love  of  Hend- 
rick  Niklaes.  Brought  before  the  judges,  they  refused  to 
put  on  any  garments,  with  the  explanation  that  they  were 

«»  Wagenaar,  Vad.  Hist.,  V,  91. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  89 

the  naked  truth,  the  image  of  God,  and  therefore  were 
ashamed  of  nothing.  All  of  them  were  sewed  in  sail- 
cloth, and,  after  a  brief  examination,  executed.^^ 

In  these  and  similar  occurrences  the  magistrates  of  the 
city  saw  the  possibility  of  an  attempt  in  force  on  the 
city  of  Amsterdam.  Nor  were  they  mistaken.  And  dili- 
gent as  was  their  lookout  for  the  signs  of  the  times, 
they  were  nearly  caught  napping. 

Jan  Van  Geelen  after  his  fiasco  in  the  North  came  to 
Amsterdam,  early  in  the  spring  of  1535.  He  lived  there 
under  an  assumed  name  and  had  the  temerity  to  go  to 
Brussels  and,  there  confessing  his  guilt,  to  request  letters 
of  pardon  from  Margareth.  He  offered  to  deliver  the 
city  of  Miinster,  which  was  still  holding  out,  into  the 
hands  of  the  emperor.  On  this  condition,  the  letters 
asked  for  were  granted  him,  and  he  returned  immediately 
to  Amsterdam,  where  from  that  time  on  he  associated 
with  the  best  class  of  citizens. 

Secretly,  however,  he  kept  in  touch  with  the  Anabap- 
tists and  made  propaganda  for  the  party,  with  such  suc- 
cess that  on  the  tenth  of  May  he  deemed  himself  strong 
enough  to  make  the  attempt.  Hendrick  Goedbeleid  was 
the  other  leader  of  the  conspiracy.  They  fully  believed 
that  the  mass  of  the  common  people  would  join  them 
as  soon  as  an  initial  success  had  been  attained.  Hendrick 
of  Hilversum  had  promised  Amsterdam  and  two  other 
cities  to  the  king  of  Zion ;  and  was  he  not  a  prophet  of 
the  Lord? 

The  tolling  of  the  bell  was  to  be  the  signal  of  attack 
in  all  parts  of  the  city.  The  date  chosen  was  that  of  the 
festival  of  the  "  Guild  of  the  Cross-Brothers,"  always  cele- 
brated with  a  great  banquet,  at  which  the  magistrates  and 
the  wealthiest  citizens  were  present.    But  at  the  eleventh 

*^  Wagenaar,  Vad.  Hist.,  V,  90, 


90  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

hour  the  secret  leaked  out,  in  part  at  least,  through  in- 
formation given  by  a  young  man  who  may  have  been 
related  to  one  of  the  Anabaptists. 

It  was  hard  to  convince  the  magistrates  that  the  danger 
was  real  and  imminent,  for  there  had  been  scores  of  false 
alarms ;  and  only  reluctantly  they  took  some  measures  of 
defense.  It  was  said  that  the  headquarters  of  the  Rhetor- 
ical Chambers  (Rederykerskamers)  in  the  city  were  con- 
verted into  an  arsenal  and  that  a  goodly  part  of  the 
armament  of  the  conspirators  was  hidden  there.  But 
what  to  do  ?  It  was  close  to  midnight,  and  the  festivities 
were  just  about  to  break  up.  Some  proposed  one  plan, 
others  another.  But  suddenly,  like  the  crack  of  doom, 
they  heard  the  ruffling  drums  and  the  loud  shouts  of  the 
onrushing  Anabaptists.  These  were  only  a  detachment 
of  the  main  body,  sent  out  to  capture  the  city  hall.  This 
they  succeeded  in  doing  after  a  few  citizens,  who  had 
been  hastily  dispatched  to  keep  the  place  secure  against 
attack,  had  been  killed. 

The  burgomasters  escaped  by  a  hasty  flight.  Had 
the  tocsin  been  sounded,  as  had  been  planned  by  the  Ana- 
baptists, Amsterdam  might  have  been  taken  and  have 
shared  the  fate  of  Miinster.  But  history  turns  on  small 
events.  A  drunken  under-sheriff,  hearing  the  tumult  of 
the  attack  and  insanely  afraid,  made  his  way  into  the 
belfry  and  drew  up  both  rope  and  ladder  after  him,  thus 
preventing  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  and  therefore  no 
signal  for  a  general  attack  was  given. 

But  the  Anabaptists,  weak  as  they  were  in  numbers, 
were  well  armed  and  kept  the  city  hall  and  the  Dam 
against  all  attacks  during  the  night.  In  one  of  these  at- 
tacks, Peter  Kolyn,  one  of  the  burgomasters  of  the  city, 
lost  his  life.  The  Anabaptists  were,  however,  closely  in- 
vested, and  all  hope  for  outside  aid  was  cut  off.    When 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  91 

the  day  dawned  the  citizens  attacked  the  besieged  in  dead 
earnest,  and  after  desperate  resistance  the  city  hall  was 
finally  taken.  Of  the  entire  Anabaptist  band  only  twelve 
were  taken  alive ;  all  the  others  died  fighting  with  a  hero- 
ism worthy  of  a  better  cause.  Jan  van  Geelen  deliberately 
exposed  himself  to  the  fire  of  the  besiegers  and  was  shot 
to  death.  Twenty-eight  Anabaptists  and  twenty  citizens 
were  killed  in  the  fighting.  All  the  captives  were  either 
immediately  or  subsequently  executed.  Not  a  known 
Anabaptist  in  the  city  was  spared.  Thus  Amsterdam  was 
saved. ^^ 

Subsequent  revelations  made  it  evident  that  the  danger 
had  even  been  more  serious  than  was  expected.  Three 
hundred  Anabaptists  from  Benskoop,  ordered  by  Jan  van 
Geelen  to  report  at  Amsterdam  on  May  10,  returned 
when  they  discovered  that  the  attempt  had  failed.  And 
two  large  vessels  filled  with  Anabaptists  arrived  in  the 
harbor  of  Amsterdam  on  the  same  day,  and  hearing 
of  the  failure  of  the  plan,  turned  about  and  sailed  for 
England. 

When  after  these  failures  in  Holland,  Miinster  finally 
succumbed  and  its  king  was  publicly  executed,  the  mil- 
lennial frenzy  seemed  to  have  worked  itself  out.  The 
dreary  chapter,  written  by  HoflFman  and  the  disciples  of 
his  school,  had  run  to  its  final  paragraph;  from  the  fall 
of  Miinster  the  fanaticism  of  the  Anabaptists  abated. 
They  became  sane  and  sober,  and  the  alien  elements, 
drawn  into  their  circles  by  the  Hoffmanite  chiliasm,  soon 
were  purged  out.  The  new  party  eschewed  the  hated 
name  Anabaptist  (Wederdooper)  and  adopted  for  them- 
selves a  new  and  pacific  name,  by  which  they  were  known 
in  subsequent  Dutch  history,  that  of  Baptists  (Doops- 
gezinden). 

•'Wagenaar,  Vad.  Hist.,  V,  91-99- 


92  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

3.  The  Menace  of  the  Old  Name 

Newman  has  correctly  said,  "  No  episode  in  history 
has  done  so  much  to  impede  the  progress  of  Baptist  prin- 
ciples as  that  of  Miinster.  Its  influence  is  still  quite 
marked  in  Germany  and  other  European  countries."  ®^ 
The  name  "  Anabaptist "  became  a  synonym  for  violence, 
outrage,  rebellion,  sensuality,  and  every  kind  of  outrage. 

Say  Ypey  and  Dermout,  "  The  recalcitrant  Anabaptists, 
mostly  of  the  lower  classes,  during  the  period  of  which 
we  now  write,  have  made  themselves  notorious  by  the 
most  unheard-of  riots,  which  were  accompanied  with  a 
folly  and  lack  of  true  religion,  which  transcend  every- 
thing." ***  The  sober-minded  portion  of  the  Anabaptists 
had  deeply  felt  this,  and  they  had  bitterly  resented  the 
outrage  committed  by  these  fanatics  against  their  heri- 
tage, a  name  which  in  Switzerland  had  been  the  synonym 
of  mutual  love  and  non-resistance  and  faithfulness  unto 
death. 

In  a  meeting  at  Sparendam,  in  January,  1535,  when  the  Miin- 
ster tragedy  was  still  in  full  swing,  it  had  been  shown  that 
they  [the  quiet,  peaceful  party  among  them]  were  in  the  majority. 
And  in  a  large  gathering  at  Bocholt,  in  Westphalia,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1536,  they  were  so  completely  victorious  that  the  im- 
pure and  riotous  elements  were  thrown  out.*^ 

And  yet  they  were  identified  with  them  by  the  Church 
as  well  as  by  the  State.  As  we  have  seen,  they  chose  a 
separate  name  to  distinguish  themselves  from  the  riotous 
party,  but  all  in  vain. 

Rome  carried  the  matter  even  further.  It  did  not 
distinguish  between  any  particular  sects  of  heretics,  who 
all  had  this  in  common,  that  they  opposed  her,  iii  her 

««  "  Hist,  of  Antip."  292. 

**  Gesch.  d.  Herv.  Kerk,  I,  120. 

^  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  59. 


THE  RADICAL  ANABAPTISTS  93 

organization,  her  theology  and  rites — and  so  she  named 
them  all  Anabaptists. 

Thus  it  happened  that  the  detestation  merited  only  by 
some  of  the  Anabaptists  became  the  burden  of  all  Protes- 
tants.^^ All  alike  were  persecuted  by  the  Inquisition  as 
belonging  to  one  and  the  same  family. 

But  when  this  wider  identification  was  finally  set  aside 
by  a  more  critical  study  of  Protestantism  as  to  life  and 
doctrine,  and  when  it  was  seen  that  the  antipedobaptists 
stood  in  a  class  by  themselves,  the  identification  between 
Anabaptists  and  Baptists  remained  as  absolute  as  ever. 
Says  Glasius  the  historian :  ®^ 

Very  dear  the  Doopsgezinden  had  to  pay  for  the  fact  that,  in 
some  points,  they  were  of  the  same  mind  with  the  Wederdoopers. 
Not  only  did  they  have  to  bear  the  hated  name,  but  they  were 
especially  the  victims  on  which  the  sword  of  the  Inquisition 
dulled  itself.  They  were  grossly  ill-treated,  and  the  Protestants 
were  led  to  hate  them  to  the  utmost,  under  the  impression  that 
they  were  the  progeny  of  the  Miinster  sect. 

Therefore  it  turned  out  that,  after  the  Miinster  tragedy, 
the  name  Anabaptist  became  a  menace,  a  thing  to  recoil 
from  in  horror,  a  thing  to  frighten  with,  and  an  absolutely 
sure  way  to  the  hangman's  noose  or  the  executioner's  axe 
or  stake.  Woe  to  the  man  or  woman  who  could  be 
proved  to  have  a  right  to  the  name ! 

In  June,  1539,  a  placard  was  issued  against  them,  under 
which 

All  so-called  prophets,  apostles,  or  bishops  among  the  Ana- 
baptists were  condemned  to  death  by  fire;  and  all  other  Ana- 
baptists to  the  sword  or  the  pit  without  the  right,  on  the  part 
of  the  judges,  to  use  even  the  least  mercy  toward  these  people,  on 
account  of  their  evil  intentions."* 

^Gesch.  d.  Ned.  Herv.  Kerk.,  I,   131,   132. 
«^  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  120. 
•^Wagenaar,  Vad.  Hist.,  V,  100. 


94  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

And  yet  how  they  differed  from  each  other.  Even  a 
casual  glance  at  the  two  parties  suffices. 

The  Dutch  Baptists  or  Mennonites,  in  distinction  from 
the  Anabaptists,  stood  for  a  purely  religious  program. 
[The  latter  had  political  aspirations,  dreamed  millennial 
dreams,  obeyed  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  greedily  used  carnal 
means  to  attain  carnal  ends,  saw  visions  of  world  domin- 
ion, paid  little  or  no  attention  to  the  Scriptures,  but  de- 
rived what  Httle  spiritual  light  they  had  from  the  flicker- 
ing flames  of  their  own  inward  experience,  and  all  in  all, 
displayed  little  of  the  life  of  Christ  in  their  own  lives. 

The  former  withdrew  from  the  world  with  almost  as- 
cetic austerity ;  they  had  abandoned,  as  a  menace,  all  mil- 
lennial ideals ;  they  were  moral  examples  to  all  who  knew 
them,  their  bitterest  enemies  being  witnesses.  They  felt 
themselves  strangers  and  pilgrims  here,  and  they  sought 
a  city  whose  founder  and  builder  is  God.  They  depended 
absolutely  on  the  Scriptures  for  their  faith,  and  they  were 
marvelously  skilled  in  their  use ;  and  of  nearly  every  one 
of  them  it  might  be  said,  "  a  close  follower  of  Christ." 
The  Anabaptists  and  the  Mennonites  sprang  from  one 
stem,  but  they  were  as  different  as  Esau  and  Jacob,  as 
different  as  bitter  and  sweet,  as  sin  and  righteousness. 
Of  course,  I  am  thinking  here  of  the  Dutch  Wederdoopers 
and  Doopsgesinden.  As  the  waters  from  the  same  spring 
on  the  "  Great  Divide,"  separating  at  the  very  source, 
turn  in  part  to  the  placid  Pacific  and  in  part  to  the  stormy 
Atlantic,  thus  these  two,  having  a  common  historical 
origin,  have  separated  and  differentiated  themselves,  until 
only  the  faintest  family  trace  remains  to  betray  this  com- 
mon origin.  We  turn  our  backs  to  the  radicals  and  our 
faces  to  the  conservatives,  in  the  next  lecture. 


m 

THE  CONSERVATIVES 

From  Ypres  to  the  border  of  the  Oise  above  Noyon, 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  in  longitude  and  from  a 
dozen  to  fifty  miles  in  latitude,  we  find  today  the  most 
appalling  desert  of  which  the  mind  can  conceive.  Once 
seen  the  picture  of  devastation  can  never  be  forgotten. 

It  was  not  always  thus,  the  desert  is  not  God-made 
but  man-made.  In  all  these  hundreds  of  square  miles 
once  happiness  reigned  and  thrift  and  prosperity;  small 
and  larger  streams  lazily  flowed  through  smiling  valleys 
and  fertile  fields,  cattle  dotted  the  pastures,  forests  beau- 
tified the  landscape,  the  laugh  of  the  young  and  the  quav- 
ering voices  of  the  old  were  heard  on  every  side.  There 
was  no  fairer  land,  nor  one  more  obviously  prosperous 
than  Northern  France  and  Southern  Belgium,  before  the 
war.  It  has  all  been  wiped  out  with  the  besom  of  de- 
struction. Hamlets  and  villages  and  towns  are  absolutely 
obliterated,  forests  are  removed  as  with  a  wizard's  wand, 
and  for  decades  not  even  a  shadow  of  their  imposing 
glory  can  return;  the  very  ruins  are  ominous  with  the 
menace  of  death,  which  lurks  in  countless  unexploded 
shells,  whether  in  the  rubbish  pile  or  in  the  furrow  to  be 
turned  up  by  the  plow. 

And  over  all  these  miles  of  wilderness  we  may  well 
write,  "  Behold  what  the  frenzy  of  man  has  wrought !  " 
And  yet  this  desert  is  the  geographical  link  between  the 
prosperity  on  the  North  and  that  on  the  South.  Simons 
has  called  this  desert  "  a  monstrous  and  amazing  miracle 

95 


96  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

of  destruction."  ^  And  thus  between  the  bitter-sweet 
experiences  of  the  Anabaptists  in  their  Swiss  home,  and 
the  bitter-sweet  experiences  of  these  same  people  in  their 
Dutch  history,  there  Hes  the  desert  of  the  fanatical  frenzy 
of  the  Hoffmanite  group  of  Anabaptists,  as  it  expressed 
itself  in  the  riots  and  wantonness  and  bloodshed  of  the 
Miinster  tragedy  and  the  multitudinous  outbursts  of  a 
similar  character,  in  Holland  and  elsewhere. 

As  the  Belgian-French  desert  is  a  geographical  link 
between  the  fertile  North  and  the  fertile  South,  so  Hoff- 
manitism  is  a  historical  link  between  Switzerland  and 
Holland. 

Cardinal  Newman  tells  us  somewhere,  in  his  Historical 
Sketches,  of  the  providence  of  God  which  used  the  Nor- 
mans, the  descendants  of  the  Norsemen,  to  quell  the  Vik- 
ing power  in  England.  And  thus  from  an  offshoot  of 
the  Hoffmanite  movement,  deliverance  was  to  come  to  the 
Dutch  Anabaptists.  The  fiercely  foaming  current  of  radi- 
calism was  to  be  replaced,  and  that  forever,  by  the  placid 
stream  of  conservatism.  A  conservatism,  however,  not 
to  be  measured  by  the  accepted  meaning  of  the  term,  as 
our  further  research  will  clearly  indicate;  but  fully  ap- 
plicable in  comparison  with  the  turbulency  of  the  theolog- 
ical and  social  radicals  whom  we  have  met  heretofore. 
Several  names  at  once  clamor  for  recognition — ^the  Philips 
brothers,  Menno  Simons,  Leonard  Bouwens,  and  others. 
Of  all  these  Menno  Simons  and  the  Philips  brothers 
have  an  outstanding  significance  for  the  history,  the  theol- 
ogy, and  the  life  of  the  churches  they  founded. 

1.  Obbe  Philips 

Except  among  Dutch  and  a  few  German  historians,  up 
to  this  time  Obbe  Philips  was  little  more  than  a  name. 

^  *•  Evening  Post,"  Louisville,  Ky.,  January  25,  1919. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  97 

Invaluable  light  has  been  spread  over  his  personality  by 
the  Bibliotheca,  in  v^hich  we  find  a  reprint  of  his  "  Con- 
fession" (Bekentenisse).    Says  Dr.  S.  Cramer:^ 

What  is  known  of  Obbe's  life  has  been  related  by  Dr.  De 
Hoop  Scheffer,  in  a  treatise  printed  in  the  Doopsgezinde  Bydra- 
gen  of  1884,  pages  1-24.  He  wrote  under  the  caption,  "The 
Installer  of  Menno."  Further  we  have  Krause's  article,  in  the 
Allgemeine  Deutsche  Biographie ;  although  as  early  as  1733  a 
very  exhausting  and  uncommonly  keen  treatise  about  Obbe  had 
been  published  in  the  form  of  a  dissertation,  by  J.  H.  Hilmers. 

Besides  these  we  have  some  minor  sources:  a  single 
letter,  dated  1538  or  1539,  and  the  confession  of  Jan  van 
Batenborch,  obtained  under  torture  in  1537,  in  which 
Obbe  is  called  "  the  son  of  a  priest  in  West  Frisia  and 
one  of  the  principal  Anabaptists." 

But  the  "  Confession,"  reprinted  in  the  Bibliotheca,  is 
after  all  the  only  source,  from  which  all  have  derived 
their  scant  information. 

We  know  nothing  about  his  parentage  except  what  we 
learn  from  Batenborch,  for  on  this  point  Obbe  himself  is 
silent. 

He  was  unquestionably  the  direct  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  Hoffmanites  and  the  founders  of  the  brother- 
hood of  Anabaptists,  who  after  Miinster  began  to  call 
themselves  Baptists  (DoopsgcBinden) ,  and  these  founders 
were  his  brother  Derek  and  Menno  Simons. 

He  was  himself  baptized  and  chosen  and  ordained  as 
bishop  by  Bartelt  Boeckbinder  and  Derk  Cuper,  who 
had  been  sent  to  Vriesland  by  John  Matthysz.  And  he,  in 
his  turn,  "  ordained  his  brother  Derek  in  Den  Ham,  David 
Joris  in  Delft,  and  Menno  Simons  in  Groningen."  ^ 

2  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  94. 
»  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  45. 
G 


98  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Neither  he,  nor  his  brother,  nor  Menno  had  anything 
to  do  with  the  wild  fanaticism  which  soon  pervaded  the 
entire  Anabaptist  movement  in  Holland.  The  excesses 
of  the  Miinsterites  shocked  and  amazed  him.  And  he 
soon  was  deeply  convinced  that  he  had  committed  a 
grave  error  in  joining  the  sect  at  all,  for  current  events 
were  making  a  deep  impression  on  his  mind. 

Says  V.  P.  (an  unknown  author,  who  hides  his  identity 
behind  these  two  letters)  in  the  Successio  Anabaptistica,^ 

These  and  similar  ravings  and  the  fanaticism  which  had  no 
aim  but  the  ruin  of  united  Christendom,  have  moved  Obbe 
Philips  to  lament  the  false  and  lying  mission  which  he  had 
received  and  also  the  empty  and  powerless  and  hurtful  mis- 
sion, which  he  in  turn  had  imparted  to  the  three  missionaries, 
Derek  Philips,  Menno  Simons,  and  David  Joris. 

In  the  distress  of  his  soul,  he  laid  the  matter  before  his 
brother  and  Menno  and  begged  them,  with  him,  to  demit 
the  office  which  he  had  given  them.  They  flatly  refused 
to  do  so  and  separated  in  anger  from  him.  And  this  it  is 
that  caused  him  to  write  his  "  Confession." 

As  a  matter  of  course  he  was  excommunicated  by  the 
Anabaptists,  whose  new  name  originated  some  time  after 
his  departure  from  the  brotherhood.  Later  he  was  called 
the  *'  Demas "  of  the  movement  by  Menno.  His  de- 
tractors tell  us  that  he  returned  to  the  Romish  Church, 
for  which  there  is  not  an  iota  of  proof.  This  slander  is 
of  late  origin  and  is  absolutely  disproved  by  the  contents 
of  the  "  Confession."  ^  Doctor  Cramer  has  clearly  proved 
this  in  his  wonderful  introduction  to  the  tract. 

After  his  break  with  the  Anabaptists,  he  stood  appa- 
rently outside  of  all  church  connection.  If  the  true 
Church  was  not  founded  by  the  Anabaptists,  where  was 

*  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  47'  ^  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  95- 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  99 

it  to  be  sought;  or  had  it  ceased  to  exist,  and  was  the 
thread  of  apostolic  succession  broken  forever?  Sebastian 
Franck,  Obbe's  contemporary,  answered  this  question  af- 
firmatively;  so  did  many  Mennonites  later  on,  and  the 
Collegiants  and  the  later  Darbists  and  others.  And,  says 
Doctor  Cramer,  "  therewith  a  conviction  was  uttered, 
which  since  the  eighteenth  century  has  leavened  one- 
half  of  the  Protestant  Church."  « 

The  "  Confession "  of  Obbe  Philips  has  often  been 
critically  attacked  and  its  genuineness  has  been  placed 
in  jeopardy.  It  first  appeared  in  Amsterdam  in  1584,  and 
before  1609  it  had  passed  through  a  second  and  third 
edition.  It  was  translated  in  French,  under  the  title  Obbe 
Philippe  Recognoissance,  and  in  1720  it  was  published 
in  a  German  translation.  No  volume  in  all  the  Ana- 
baptist literature  was  more  widely  and  avidly  read  than 
this.   Why  then  these  efforts  to  discountenance  it? 

It  was  a  thorn  in  the  sides  of  the  Mennonites,  because 
it  identified  them  with  the  Anabaptists  as  springing  from 
the  same  root,  and  thus  its  genuineness  was  bitterly  at- 
tacked. But  several  critics  undertook  its  defense,  lean- 
ing heavily  on  the  testimony  of  Carel  van  Ghent,  who 
evidently  was  familiar  with  it,  and  who  was  practically  a 
contemporary  of  Obbe.  And  yet  so  great  a  scholar  as 
Dr.  Blaupot  ten  Cate,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  revived 
the  doubt  which  first  had  been  created  by  Dr.  Hermanns 
Schyn,  in  1744.  Ten  Cate  was  joined  by  Sepp,  in  1872, 
in  his  Geschiedkundige  Nasporingen  ("  Historical  Re- 
searches"). But  De  Hoop  Scheffer  brilliantly  refuted 
all  these  attacks  in  1884,  in  the  Doopsgezinde  Bydragen 
("  Baptist  Contributions  "),  and  Dr.  S.  Cramer  adds  the 
finishing  touches  to  the  argument  in  his  illuminating  in- 
troduction to  the  work  in  the  Bibliotheca.'' 

«B,  R.  N.,  VII,  99.  'B.  R.  N.,  VII.  102-108. 


100  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

The  "  Confession  "  of  Obbe  Philips  is  worth  reading ;  I 
freely  confess  that  none  of  the  Anabaptistica,  in  the  won- 
derful collection  of  the  Bibliotheca,  affected  me  as  did  this 
one. 

It  grips  one,  it  seems  to  conjure  up  the  whole  scene;  the 
sorrow-smitten  man,  the  deep  consciousness  of  the  wrong 
he  committed  and  which  he  now  seeks  to  undo,  his  stern 
judges,  the  love  of  former  brethren  turned  to  hatred — 
you  see  it  all,  you  feel  it  all,  after  these  four  hundred 
years. 

It  is  indeed  a  wonderful  confession !  Not  in  vain  does 
Dr.  S.  Cramer  say  of  it,^ 

No  more  circumstantial  or  vivid,  no  more  deeply  felt  or  more 
finely  drawn,  and  no  more  trustworthy  picture  of  the  tendencies 
and  ideas,  which  were  current  among  the  Dutch  Anabaptists, 
from  1534-1536,  and  of  the  mind  which  then  prevailed  among 
them,  has  come  down  to  us. 

He  is  SO  absolutely  modest,  so  evidently  contrite,  so 
whole-souled  in  his  sorrow,  that  we  can  almost  hear  the 
sob  in  his  voice  as  he  tells  the  story;  we  seem  to  hear 
the  tears  drop  on  the  paper  as  he  writes. 

Yet  one  of  his  fellow  Anabaptist  bishops,  Peter  van 
Ceulen,  called  this  book  "  a  partisan  slander,"  and  the 
author  "  a  bad  man,  fallen  away  from  God,  who  thereafter 
lived  an  ungodly  carnal  life,  till  his  death."  And  even 
Menno  Simons  called  him  "  a  Demas."  ^ 

In  his  whole  book  Obbe  quotes  the  Scriptures  only 
once.  In  the  Anabaptist  circles,  in  his  day,  they  had  not 
yet  been  restored  to  their  true  place,  as  the  foundation 
of  faith.  That  was  to  be  Menno's  task.  Obbe's  call  had 
come  to  him  in  a  great  wave  of  emotionality;  he  had 
obeyed  it  in  the  same  mood,  and  now  lays  it  down  again 

*B.  R.  N.,  VII,  91.  »  Opera  Omnia,  1681,  312. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  101 

with  a  breaking  heart.  The  Hoifmanites  moved  in  other 
than  Scriptural  spheres;  but  among  them  were  many 
naturally  pious  men,  and  Obbe  Philips  was  a  prince  among 
them. 

2.  Derek  Philips 

Derek  Philips,  the  brother  of  Obbe,  was  probably  born 
at  Leeuwarden  in.Frisia,  in  1504.^^  He  apparently  shared 
with  his  brother  the  misfortune  of  a  bar  sinister;  for 
their  father  is  said  to  have  been  a  priest  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  ''  which  is  not  so  strange  if  one  knows,  that 
in  that  period  in  Vriesland  a  married  priesthood  was 
the  rule."  ^^  Thus  this  bar  sinister  was  only  an  ecclesias- 
tical one,  and  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow*  Frisians  the  mat- 
ter may  have  seemed  regular  enough.  It  is  said  that  he 
belonged  to  the  Franciscan  order,  but  whether  he  was  in 
orders  or  not,  so  much  is  sure,  that  he  was  an  educated 
man.  He  calls  his  own  attainments  "  a  small,  simple 
talent''  (eene  cleywe  eenvoudige  gave)',  but  his  con- 
temporaries thought  differently,  and  posterity  has  con- 
firmed their  judgment.  We  may  judge  from  his  Enchi- 
ridion that  he  knew  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew.  One  of 
his  writings  was  originally  written  in  French  and  thence 
translated  into  Dutch,  i.  e.,  his  tract  on  *'  The  Evangelical 
Ban  and  Avoidance."  On  the  other  hand,  his  reply  to 
the  letters  of  Sebastian  Franck  is  so  full  of  Germanisms 
that  the  conclusion  is  unavoidable  that  he  knew  German. 
He  must  have  been  therefore  quite  a  linguist. 

It  is  not  clear  whether  he  ever  attended  a  university, 
although  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  works  of 
Luther  and  Erasmus  might  point  to  Wittenberg  and  Lou- 
vain.     And  yet  his  somewhat  sneering  remark ^^  "that 

"Blaupot  ten  Cate,  Gesch.  d.  Doopsg.  in  Vriesl.,  57. 

"B.  R.  N.,  X,  s.  "Ench.,  B.  R.  N.,  X,  217,  224,  225. 


102  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

some  theologians  who,  on  account  of  the  gospel  and  of 
their  office  as  teachers,  permit  themselves  to  be  called 
Masters,  Licentiates,  Doctors,  yea  Reverend  Fathers  and 
Lords  in  Christ,"  indicates  that  he  has  no  great  respect 
for  or  fear  of  the  usual  university  dignities  and  digni- 
taries. 

Cassander,  who  was  a  bitter  enemy  of  the  Mennonites, 
pays  him  the  following  tribute :  "  His  zeal  was  no  less 
great  than  that  of  Menno  Simons,  and  he  was  as  great 
as  he  in  popular  eloquence.  But  in  learning  and  familiar- 
ity with  classic  letters  he  far  excelled  him." 

In  the  winter  of  1533-1534  he  was  baptized  on  con- 
fession of  faith.  This  baptism  took  place  at  Leeuwarden, 
in  Vriesland,  and  was  administered  by  Pieter  Houtsagher, 
an  apdstle  of  John  Matthysz.  This  we  know  for  certain 
from  the  united  testimony  of  the  Successio  Anabaptistica 
and  from  the  "  Confession  "  of  his  brother  Obbe.^^  Soon 
after  this  baptism  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  by 
his  brother.  His  enemies  accused  him  of  having  taken 
part  in  the  riotous  attack  on  Oude  Klooster,  in  1535,  and 
this  accusation  was  vehemently  pressed  home  by  the  au- 
thor of  the  Successio  Anabaptistica,^*  but  his  brother 
Obbe  twice  assures  us  to  the  contrary.^*^ 

By  nature  he  was  too  well  balanced  and  too  sober- 
minded  a  man  to  be  moved  by  such  fanaticism.  And  if 
any  further  assurance  in  regard  to  his  attitude  to  the 
Miinsterites  is  needed,  we  find  it  in  the  fact  that  he  con- 
troverted this  fanaticism  in  public  print.  Rottman  had 
written  his  widely  read  tract,  "  Restoration  of  the  True 
and  Healthy  Doctrine  of  Christ"  (Herstelling  van  de 
rechte  en  gesonde  Leer  van  Christus),  in  1534,  during 
the  siege  of  Munster,  and  in  this  tract  he  had  boldly  de- 

I'B.  R.  N.,  VII,  4S,  136. 

"B.  R.  N.,  VII,  46.  61.  «B.  R.  N.,  VII,  135. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  103 

fended  all  the  fanatical  proceedings  of  the  MUnsterites. 
And  Derek  Philips  had  replied  to  this  work  of  Rottman, 
in  a  characteristic  treatise,  entitled  "  Of  the  Spiritual 
Restoration"  (Van  de  geestelyke  Herstelling)^  in  which 
all  these  extravagances  were  combated  and  in  which  the 
prophesies  concerning  the  kingdom  of  Christ  were  spirit- 
ually explained.^^ 

But  he  fought  in  vain,  with  Menno  Simons,  to  stem 
the  wild  current  of  fanaticism.  Only  after  the  fall  of 
Miinster,  the  remnant  of  the  crushed  Anabaptists  were 
willing  to  listen  and  to  be  sanely  led,  and  thus  a  regenera- 
tion of  the  sect  took  place  and  the  Anabaptists  (JVeder- 
doopers)  became  Baptists  (Doopsgesinden), 

Says  Otius : " 

And  when,  about  1536,  Ubbo  and  Derek  Philips,  sons  of  a 
priest  in  Leeuwarden,  had  agreed  to  form  a  new  party  or  fac- 
tion, after  they  had  seceded  from  the  Hoffmanites,  by  whom, 
however,  in  1534  they  had  been  created  bishops,  and  also  from 
the  remainder  of  the  Miinsterites,  of  whose  institution  they  had 
always  disapproved ;  Menno  being  persuaded  by  them  and  having 
relinquished  his  papal  priesthood,  has  suffered  himself  to  be 
created  bishop  of  the  new  faction. 

When  Obbe  left  them,  Menno  Simons  and  Derek 
Philips  became  the  faithful  leaders  of  the  reformed  Dutch 
Anabaptists.  They  frequently  differed  on  matters  in  de- 
bate, but  they  stood  side  by  side  in  the  working  out  of  the 
tremendous  task  which  they  had  undertaken,  of  making  a 
homogeneous  whole  out  of  distinctly  heterogeneous  ele- 
ments. In  how  far  they  succeeded  will  appear  later  on. 
Sometimes  there  were  sharp  differences  between  these 
two  leaders,  but  when  Menno  died  in  1561,  he  was  still 
able  to  call  Derek  what  he  had  called  him  in  1550,  *'  my 

"B.  R.  N.,  VII,  559  p.;  X,  339  p. 

^''  Annales  Anabaptistici,  84. 


104  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

faithful  and  much  beloved  brother."  Derek  survived 
Menno  seven  years,  dying  in  1568. 

In  the  records  of  the  Court  of  Inquisition  against  some 
Anabaptists  surprised  at  Utrecht  in  1561,  at  the  house  of 
Cornelius  van  Voordt,  where  people  had  been  baptized  and 
the  Lord's  Supper  had  been  administered,  one  of  the  wit- 
nesses had  something  to  say  of  the  appearance  of  Philips : 
"  He  was  an  old  man  with  white  hair,  of  medium  stature, 
dressed  in  black,  with  a  round  cap,  and  he  talked  the 
dialect  of  the  Brabanders." 

Where  H.  Schyn  obtained  his  cut  of  the  portrait  of 
Derek  he  does  not  tell  us,  but  in  his  "  More  Extensive 
Treatise"  (Uitvoeriger  Verhandeling)  among  others,  we 
find  an  excellent  copperplate  of  the  face  and  person  of  the 
great  leader.^^  As  seen  there  he  was  a  man  with  a  broad 
face,  a  wide  but  low  forehead,  keen,  resolute  eyes,  a  well- 
formed,  straight  nose,  a  short  neck,  and  a  long  flowing 
beard,  parted  in  the  middle,  and  a  heavy,  drooping  mus- 
tache. The  picture  is  that  of  a  man  in  middle  life.  The 
face  expresses  great  determination,  even  unto  stubborn*- 
ness.  If  the  picture  is  authentic,  it  is  just  like  the  picture 
one  would  conjure  up  from  reading  his  works  and  the 
story  of  his  life.  Schyn  called  him  "  a  very  reverend  and 
learned  man,  in  those  days,  who  was  second  to  none 
among  the  Mennonites."  But  when  he  wrote  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  eighteenth  century  he  complained  that  it  "  was 
a  sad  thing  that  no  more  of  the  writings  of  that  man  have 
come  down  to  us,  for  we  have  nothing  of  all  his  works, 
but  only  one  little  book,  known  as  Enchiridion."  ^^ 

In  the  Bibliotheca,  we  have  now  all  the  known  writings 
of  Philips,  and  they  are  a  veritable  treasure-house  of  in- 
formation, concerning  the  Anabaptists  of  his  time.  The 
Enchiridion  covers  more  than  four  hundred  quarto  pages 

18  Schyn,  Uitv.  Verh.,  326.  i»  Idem,  326. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  105 

in  the  tenth  volume  of  the  Bibliotheca,  whilst  all  the  re- 
mainder of  this  volume  of  more  than  seven  hundred 
pages  is  devoted  to  him. 

If  we  candidly  compare  the  writings  of  Menno  with 
those  of  Derek  Philips,  it  seems  to  me  self-evident  that 
Derek  was  not  a  whit  less  a  leader  of  the  Doopsgezinden 
than  the  former.  He  suffered  as  much,  he  labored  as 
hard,  he  ruled  as  well  as  Menno.  And  the  question  is 
whether  Menno,  so  much  more  pliable  than  Derek,  would 
have  taken  the  place  he  now  occupies  in  Anabaptist  his- 
tory without  the  sterner  fiber  and  the  clearer  views  of  his 
colaborer.  If  one  searches  for  a  definite,  clear-cut,  fin- 
ished statement  of  the  doctrines  and  views  of  life  of  the 
early  Doopsgezinden,  we  find  it  in  the  writings  of  Derek 
Philips,  more  even  than  in  those  of  Menno. 

Menno  changed,  repented  of  decisions  made  and  things 
done ;  on  his  death-bed  he  admitted  that  he  had  often  been 
led  beyond  his  convictions  by  stronger  minds;  Derek 
Philips  never.  He  is  the  Petra,  the  rock-man,  among 
those  early  followers  of  the  reconstructed  Anabaptist 
movement,  a  typical  Frisian  in  his  mentality  and  im- 
movable resoluteness. 

His  Enchiridion  is  the  treasury  of  conservative  Ana- 
baptist doctrine  in  his  day.    Says  Dr.  F.  Pyper  of  it :  ^® 

It  was  for  the  Mennonites  (and  the  majority  of  the  Anabap- 
tists followed  him  as  their  true  leader)  what  the  Loci  Communes 
of  Melanchthon  were  for  the  Lutherans;  Calvin's  Institutes  and 
the  confession  of  Beza,  for  the  Calvinists;  and  the  Leken-Wech- 
wyser  ("The  Layman's  Guide")  for  the  early  Dutch  Protestants. 

Its  theology  is  strongly  "  spiritualistic,"  in  the  sense 
which  the  word  conveys  to  Doctor  Pyper,  i.  e.,  it  accen- 
tuates the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.    All  believers  outside 

»  B.  R.  N.,  X,  4, 


106  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

of  their  communion  belong  to  the  "  world."  He  knows 
nothing  of  the  relation  between  the  Waldenses  and  the 
Anabaptists.^^  All  the  fundamental  points  of  faith  are 
clearly,  boldly,  and  succinctly  stated.  One  never  hesitates 
as  to  what  Derek  Philips  really  means  or  where  he  stands. 
His  style  is  clear,  perspicuous,  and  simple. 

All  in  all,  the  tenth  volume  of  the  Bibliotheca,  contain- 
ing the  writings  of  Derek  Philips,  is  perhaps  the  most 
illuminating  of  the  whole  series,  in  the  insight  it  af- 
fords us  into  the  real  world  of  thought  and  action  of  the 
new  branch  of  the  Anabaptist  movement  which  had 
sprung  into  being  after  the  Miinster  fiasco  of  the  HofF- 
manite  group. 

3.  Menno  Simons 

The  vast  majority  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists,  as  we  have 
seen,  were  bitterly  averse  to  the  fanatic  excesses  of  the 
Munster  party.  Says  Madame  Brons,  "  Their  abhorrence 
of  all  violence  was  such  that  they  would  not  recognize 
any  one  as  brother  who  had  received  baptism  at  Miin- 
ster." " 

But  their  communion  had  been  sadly  disrupted,  and 
everywhere  they  looked  for  a  Moses,  a  leader,  a  man 
filled  with  the  Spirit  and  with  power,  able  to  organize 
the  scattered  believers  and  to  give  them  confidence  in 
the  future.  And  such  a  man  they  found  in  Menno 
Simons.  Alas,  how  very  much  of  darkness  remains  in 
all  this  page  of  history!  How  little  we  know  about 
Menno !  The  date  of  his  birth  and  even  the  year  are  un- 
known. We  know  that  he  was  born  at  Witmarsum  in 
Vriesland,  but  we  know  neither  his  father's  name  nor  his 
mother's,  nor  what  was  their  social  position.    Rumor  has 

21  Idem,  83,  369. 

2'  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  59. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  107 

it  that  he,  as  well  as  Erasmus  and  the  two  Philips  broth- 
ers, was  the  son  of  a  priest.  He  had  one  brother  at  least, 
and  of  him  we  know  that  he  died  in  the  riot  of  Oude 
Klooster  and  therefore  had  joined  the  Anabaptists  pre- 
sumably before  Menno.  We  also  know  that  Menno  was 
married  and  had  several  children  who,  all  but  one  daugh- 
ter, died  before  their  parents. 

So  much,  or  rather  so  little,  we  know  of  Menno's  pri- 
vate life. 

In  his  autobiographical  sketch,  he  tells  us  that  he  was 
priest  in  Pingjum,  when  he  was  twenty-eight  years  old, 
and  that  even  after  three  years  of  service,  as  such,  he  had 
never  read  the  Bible.  But  one  day,  when  he  was  celebrat- 
ing mass,  a  horrible  doubt  about  the  Church  doctrine  sud- 
denly assailed  him.  He  prayed  and  struggled  against  it, 
but  in  vain;  then  he  sought  carnal  diversions,  all  to  no 
purpose.  He  now  began  to  read  the  Bible  and  the  works 
of  Luther  and  slowly  began  to  work  his  way  to  the  light. 
Of  the  Anabaptists  he  knew  nothing  as  yet.  But  he  was 
suddenly  startled  into  a  new  mental  and  spiritual  strug- 
gle by  a  great  doubt  about  baptism,  which  assailed  him 
when  he  witnessed  the  execution  of  Sicke  Frerich  at 
Leeuwarden.  Soon  it  became  like  fire  in  his  bones;  he 
found  rest  neither  day  nor  night.  He  read  after  Luther, 
who  taught  him  that  children  were  baptized  on  account 
of  their  own  faith.  Then  he  turned  to  Bucer,  and  he 
taught  him  that  they  were  baptized  as  a  guaranty  of  a 
godly  training;  to  Bullinger,  and  he  told  him  that  bap- 
tism and  circumcision  were  practically  one,  the  one  having 
replaced  the  other.  Then  he  began  to  doubt  all  these 
teachers,  who  did  not  agree  among  themselves,  and  all 
their  theories,  and  became  convinced  that  infant  baptism 
was  unscriptural.^* 

»  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  60.  ^ 


108  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

He  saw  the  Anabaptist  movement  in  Vriesland  grow 
in  volume;  but  he  also  saw  the  sudden  fanatic  frenzy 
which  took  hold  of  the  Hoifmanites,  his  own  brother 
falling  a  victim  to  it,  at  Oude  Klooster,  near  his  own 
home  at  Witmarsum,  where  he  then  functioned  as  a 
Romish  priest;  and  he  shuddered.  The  burden  of  all 
these  wandering,  shepherdless  sheep  fell  heavily  on  his 
soul;  he  began  to  chafe  under  the  galling  bonds  of  his 
vows,  and  he  began  to  preach  what  he  believed  to  be 
the  truth  from  the  pulpit.  As  we  have  seen,  he  was 
baptized  in  1534,  and  later  inducted  into  the  office  of  a 
bishop  among  the  Anabaptists  by  Obbe  Philips.  But  be- 
tween that  baptism  and  the  acceptance  of  the  cross  of 
an  Anabaptist  bishop  we  find  a  bitter  period  of  great 
mental  anxiety  and  struggle.^* 

Menno  was  now  a  member  of  the  Anabaptist  com- 
munion through  baptism,  while  he  still  functioned  as  a 
priest  in  the  Catholic  Church.  When  the  situation  be- 
came intolerable,  he  broke  away  from  the  Church,  sur- 
rendered his  home,  and  sank  down  into  the  mass  of  the 
poor  unknown,  as  he  thought,  very  likely  supporting  him- 
self by  manual  labor.^^  And  there,  in  his  retreat,  a  dele- 
gation of  Anabaptists  of  sober  type  came  to  him  and 
begged  of  him  to  become  their  leader.  After  much  hesi- 
tation and  prayer,  he  consented,  believing  this  course  to 
be  the  will  of  God,  and  hearing  in  his  soul  the  echo  of 
Paul's  words,  "  Woe  is  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel." 
Thus  he  became  the  center  of  that  new  type  of  Ana- 
baptists, who,  discarding  the  abhorred  name  Wederdoop- 
ers,  adopted  the  name  Doopsgezinden. 

They  among  the  various  sects  of  Protestantism  occu- 
pied a  platform  all  their  own.   If  it  be  true  that  Luther 

2*  Idem,  64;  as  to  his  baptism,  compare  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  362. 
» Idem,  64. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  109 

had  for  his  "  formal  principle "  the  authority  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  for  his  material  principle  that  of  the 
doctrine  of  justification,  we  may  safely  say  that  the  Men- 
nonites  or  Doopsgezinden,  following  the  cue  given  them 
by  their  leader,  chose  for  their  formal  principle  the  doc-  \/ 
trine  of  the  new  creature.  If  the  other  Protestants  found 
the  center  of  gravity  in  doctrine,  they  placed  it  in  life. 
Thus  began  the  life-work  of  Menno  Simons.  All  his  life 
long  he  was  ever  a  marked  and  hounded  man,  forever 
in  danger  of  death ;  for  he  was  known  as  the  arch-heretic, 
the  veritable  high  priest  of  the  quiet  folk,  to  whom  he 
ministered,  but  who  were  still  branded  with  the  hated 
name  "  Anabaptist."  On  December  15,  1542,  a  personal 
imperial  edict  was  issued  against  him,  in  which  a  price 
was  set  on  his  head,  and  in  which  all  who  aided  or 
harbored  him  were  threatened  with  summary  execution. 
And  thus  he  wandered  from  place  to  place,  now  in  Gro- 
ningen,  then  in  Embden,  then  in  Cologne.  His  home — 
for  he  married  and  raised  a  family  of  children — ^was 
very  likely  in  Wismar.  He  was  a  voluminous  writer  and 
an  ardent  debater  in  defense  of  his  faith.  In  1547,  the 
well-known  meeting  took  place  at  Embden,  in  which 
Menno,  the  Philips  brothers,  Gilles  van  Aachen,  Hendrick 
van  Vrenen,  and  presumably  also  Leonard  Bouwens,  who 
had  been  sent  out  by  Menno  and  Derek  Philips,  debated 
with  Adam  Pastor  and  Frans  Cuyper  on  the  Trinity, 
the  divinity  of  Christ,  the  ban,  etc.  The  meeting  ad- 
journed to  Goch  in  Cleve  and  there  Adam  Pastor  was 
"  banned." 

Eastward  from  Embden  lay  the  chosen  field  of  Menno 
and  Derek  Philips,  whilst  Bouwens  became  the  great 
apostle  of  Frisia  and  Holland  in  general,  where,  in  a  few 
years,  he  baptized  ten  thousand  people.^® 

«»Idem,  78. 


110  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

All  sorts  of  nicknames  were  given  to  Menno's  followers, 
such  as  "  new-monks,"  Gleissner,  men  who  would  be 
saved  by  good  works,  "  sacrament-spoilers,"  "  child-soul 
murderers,"  "  Communists,"  **  house-slippers,"  because 
they  slipped  into  the  houses  where  they  met  through  side 
entrances;  and  in  Holland,  in  some  districts,  they  were 
called  "  syrup-lickers,"  because  it  is  said  that  Menno  once 
narrowly  escaped  capture  when  as  he  preached  from  the 
top  of  a  barrel,  the  bottom  suddenly  caved  in,  just  as  the 
alarm  was  given  of  the  near  approach  of  the  enemy. 
His  friends  are  said,  on  that  occasion,  to  have  stripped 
the  sticky  fluid  from  the  garments  of  their  beloved  leader 
to  facilitate  his  powers  of  locomotio'n,  and  to  have  licked 
their  fingers  after  the  operation. 

Menno  wrote  and  disputed  incessantly,  as  his  large 
collection  of  works  abundantly  witnesses.  At  Wismar  he 
gathered  in  secret  a  small  but  devoted  congregation,  and 
there  he  came  in  painful  contact  with  the  followers  of 
John  a  Lasco,  who  had  escaped  from  London,  on  the 
accession  of  "  Bloody  Mary  "  to  the  throne  in  1553. 

The  last  years  of  Menno's  life  were  full  of  trouble. 
The  controversy  about  the  application  of  the  ban  caused  a 
rupture  between  him  and  Derek  Philips.  The  schismatic 
spirit  now  began  to  lift  its  head  among  his  followers,  and 
he  found  himself  between  two  fires.  From  a  controversy 
about  the  enforcement  of  the  ban  and  what  they  called 
"Avoidance"  (on  the  part  of  married  people,  one  of 
whom  was  excommunicated),  two  parties  arose  among 
the  followers  of  Menno,  bitterly  hostile  to  each  other,  a 
rigorous  and  a  temperate  party.  Menno,  always  con- 
ciliating in  his  attitude,  modified  his  position  consider- 
ably and  thus  the  Upper-German  party,  on  the  one  hand, 
began  to  suspect  him  and  the  Dutch  party,  on  the  other. 

In  1559.  Menno  wrote  his  last  book,  an  apologetic 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  111 

against  Sylis  and  Lemke,  who  had  sown  the  seeds  of 
distrust  against  him.  His  soul  was  deeply  burdened  on 
account  of  the  churches,  "  to  which,"  as  Brons  says,^^ 
"  he  had  devoted  all  his  knowledge,  all  his  powers,  all  his 
will  and  faith  and  love,  that  he  might  promote  their 
moral  well-being  and  unity." 

He  closed  his  tired  eyes  on  January  31,  1561,  at  Wiis- 
tenfelde,  near  Oldesloe,  in  Holstein,  and  there  he  sleeps 
in  Christ,  on  his  own  little  farm,  buried  in  secret  as  he 
had  died,  lest  the  enemy  desecrate  his  bones.  The  barren 
fields  about  it  had  been  changed  into  a  garden  of  God 
by  the  tireless  labors  of  his  followers.  The  cruel  devasta- 
tion of  the  Thirty  Years  War  swept  over  it,  and  lo, 
the  desert  resumed  its  sway,  so  that  no  one  ever  knew 
where  his  poor  body  was  laid  to  rest. 

In  1902,  the  German  Mennonites  raised  a  monument 
to  Menno,  near  Oldesloe.  Benedict  claimed  that  Menno 
was  baptized  by  immersion,  because  he  had  expressed 
himself  in  favor  of  "  dipping,"  ^^  although  the  Anabap- 
tists, who  baptized  him,  knew  nothing  of  that  mode  of 
baptism  and  always  sprinkled  or  affused.  There  is  no 
scintilla  of  proof  for  the  truth  of  this  statement  in  any 
of  the  documents  of  the  Bibliotheca,  or  in  any  of  the 
biographies  of  Menno.  Had  it  been  true,  a  thing  so 
obviously  at  variance  with  the  general  practise  of  the 
Anabaptists  must  have  been  noted  by  friend  and  foe  alike. 
It  is  impossible  to  deny  the  charge  against  Menno  that 
he  vacillated  on  the  subject  of  the  ban.  In  his  first  Ban- 
bo  eck  of  1550,  and  in  his  letter,  written  to  those  of  the 
city  of  Franeker  and  of  West  Frisia,  in  1555,  and  to  those 
of  Embden  in  1556,  he  took  position  unquestionably  in 
favor  of  the  milder  policy.    There  must  be  no  ban  without 

^  Idem,  10$. 

28  Benedict,  "  Gen.  Hist.  Bapt.  Den.,"  82. 


112  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

the  regular  Scriptural  admonition.  But  in  1558  he  had 
radically  changed  his  views.  In  cases  of  the  application 
of  the  ban,  there  was  to  be  no  longer  any  admonition,  but 
strict  and  swift  judgment  and  absolute  avoidance  in  the 
relations  between  married  people,  on  one  of  whom  the 
ban  had  fallen.-'^ 

In  his  old  age  he  had  been  frightened  into  the  accep- 
tance of  the  more  radical  views  by  a  threat  of  the  ban 
for  himself,  which  Leonard  Bouwens  held  over  his  head. 
And  thus  he  traveled  with  Bouwens  and  the  others  to 
Cologne  to  bring  over  the  German  congregations  to  this 
view.  When  they  refused,  they  were  all  put  under  the 
ban,  and  the  Menno  party  considered  itself  as  the  only 
true  Church. 

All  his  life  long  Menno  had  hated  violence,  and  there- 
fore he  most  cordially  detested  the  Miinsterites.  Says 
he,  in  his  autobiography,  before  the  ''  Opera  Omnia/' 
printed  in  1681 : 

Know,  my  good  reader,  that  in  all  my  days  I  have  never  as- 
sented to  those  of  Miinster,  in  the  aforesaid  articles  (king,  sword, 
rebellion,  resistance,  polygamy,  and  such  other  horrors),  but 
according  to  my  small  talents,  have  warned  against  these  hor- 
rible aberrations,  for  more  than  seventeen  years,  and  have  ever 
opposed  them.  But  I  have  brought  some  of  them,  with  the 
word  of  God,  to  the  right  way.  Munster  I  have  never  seen  in 
all  my  life;  I  have  never  been  in  their  communion  and,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  if  there  be  any  of  them  left,  I  will  neither  eat 
nor  drink  with  them,  as  the  Scriptures  teach  me,  unless  they 
heartily  acknowledge  their  abominations  and  give  proof  of  true 
repentance  and  walk  rightly  according  to  the  gospel. 

As  Schyn  reproduces  his  picture,  we  see  a  spare  man, 
of  medium  height,  with  a  broad  brow  and  extremely  mild 
eyes.     His  face  is  deeply  lined,  his  forehead  wrinkled, 

»B.  R.  N.,  VII,  443,  444,448. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  113 

with  vertical  lines  between  the  eyes,  indicative  of  con- 
centration. The  nose  is  slightly  aquiline,  beard  and  mus- 
tache are  long  and  heavy.  A  tight-fitting  black  cap,  of  the 
usual  pattern  of  the  sixteenth  century,  covers  his  head  and 
ears.  It  is  the  face  of  a  good  man,  capable  of  endless 
suffering.^**  The  picture  in  the  biography  of  Dr.  A.  M. 
Cramer,  of  1837,  is  that  of  a  much  younger  man,  with  a 
round  skull-cap  and  curly  hair  flowing  thick  about  the 
ears.  The  face,  however,  has  the  same  general  character- 
istics. Doctor  Pyper  places  Menno  Simons  below  Derek 
Philips,  as  regards  general  and  classical  erudition.^^ 
With  that  judgment  Dr.  A.  M.  Cramer  seems  to  agree, 
when  he  tells  ^^  us  that  Menno, 

neither  by  natural  talent  or  development,  nor  by  study  and  con- 
tact with  others,  ever  attained  a  special  degree  of  culture.  But 
he  had  a  real  love  for  the  truth  and  for  the  glory  of  God,  a 
true  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  humility  and  steadfastness  under  all 
circumstances,  and  a  fiery  zeal  for  the  cause  of  his  Master  and 
for  the  salvation  of  his  fellow  men. 

Opinions  about  his  style  have  greatly  differed.  Mos- 
heim  describes  him  as  "  possessing  the  invaluable  gift  of 
a  natiiral  and  convincing  eloquence,  sufficient  to  pass 
with  the  masses  of  the  people  for  an  oracle."  ^^  But  his 
Dutch  translator  appends  a  note  to  this  statement  of  Mos- 
heim,  which  seriously  damages  the  "  oracle."     Says  he : 

He  had  an  exceedingly  monotonous  way  of  writing,  many 
and  unnecessary  repetitions,  an  exceedingly  great  commingling 
of  sentences  and  things.  He  was  pious,  but  unimpressive  and 
admonitions  and  other  similar  defects  make  the  reading  of  his 
writings  highly  disagreeable. 

"Schyn,  215. 
«B.  R.  N.,  X,  7- 

^Het  Lev.  e.  d.  Verr.,  van  M.  S.,  158. 
83  "  Ch.  Hist.,"  VII,  253  (Dutch  Ed.). 
H 


114  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

And  I  am  afraid  that  those  of  us  who  have  read  or  tried 
to  read  after  Menno,  will  have  to  admit  that  the  Dutch 
annotator  was  right.  As  a  writer,  he  is  impressive  only 
when  deeply  stirred.  But  how  is  it  possible  that  one  can 
be  "  an  oracle  "  as  a  speaker,  and  tedious  as  a  writer  ? 
His  two  chief  doctrines  were  ( 1 )  the  need  of  regeneration 
and  (2)  the  gathering  of  a  church  which  shall  truly  be  a 
body  of  believers.^* 

Dr.  A.  M.  Cramer,  against  later  evidence,  questions 
whether  Menno  was  ever  baptized,  although  he  certainly 
was  not  immersed.^®  His  enemies  accused  him  of  crafti- 
ness. We  would  rather  call  it  quick-wittedness.  One 
day,  it  is  said,  as  he  rode  on  a  wagon,  trying  to  escape  al- 
most certain  capture,  a  band  of  men  rode  up,  stopped 
the  wagon,  and  the  leader  loudly  demanded  "  whether 
Menno  Simons  were  on  that  vehicle."  Menno  was  seated 
with  the  driver  and  turned  about  deliberately  to  his  fel- 
low travelers  with  the  remark,  "  These  men  want  to  know 
whether  Menno  Simons  is  on  this  wagon."  When  they 
answered  in  the  negative,  he  turned  to  the  chief  constable, 
and  said,  "  The  friends  say  no."  ^®  It  is  rather  refreshing 
to  know  that  all  the  drabness  of  his  life  had  not  been  able 
to  utterly  destroy  his  innate  sense  of  humor.  He  told 
no  lie,  but  simply  availed  himself  of  a  legitimate  means 
of  escape. 

A.  M.  Cramer's  estimate  of  the  man  is  not  very  flat- 
tering. Says  he,  "  All  in  all,  he  seems  to  me  to  have  been 
a  man  of  a  narrow  and  small  rather  than  of  a  great  and 
liberal  spirit,  namely,  in  comparison  with  the  other  Re- 
formers." ^^  His  was  undoubtedly  an  impressionable 
mind,  easily  moved  to  change,  for  of  these  same  Miin- 

•*A.  M.   Cramer,  Het  Leven,  etc.,   162. 

sqdem,  158. 

MB.  R.  N.,  VII,  362. 

*^A.  M.  Cramer,  Het  Leven,  etc.,  158. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  115 

sterites,  whom  he  so  bitterly  attacked  in  his  autobiog- 
raphy, he  said  in  1539: 

I  do  not  doubt  that  our  brethren,  who  formerly  went  a  little 
astray,  because  they  wanted  to  defend  their  faith  with  arms, 
have  a  merciful  God.  They  sought  only  Jesus  Christ  and  life 
eternal;  and  therefore  they  left  home,  garden,  soil,  father, 
mother,  wife,  child,  and  even  their  own  lives.'® 

Menno  disapproved  of  rebaptism  of  his  followers 
among  themselves,  as  they  passed  from  one  faction  to  the 
other.  He  refused  to  rebaptize  the  wife  of  Eydes,  be- 
cause she  had  been  baptized  by  one  of  the  Miinster  party, 
and  here  for  once  he  was  joined  by  Leonard  Bouwens.^® 
And  yet  this  same  Bouwens  had  forced  him  "  to  do  things 
for  fear  of  the  ban  for  which  he  was  sorry." 

For  when  Menno  had  gone  to  Franeker  and  thence  to 
Harlingen  with  the  brethren,  a  stricter  application  of  the 
ban  was  proposed.  Menno  hesitated  and  was  asked  to 
go  out  of  the  room.  As  he  went  out  Bouwens  stood  at 
the  door  and  laying  his  hand  on  Menno's  head,  said: 
"  Menno  has  not  yet  grown  above  our  heads.  If  he  can- 
not follow  us,  we  will  do  to  him  as  is  done  to  other  min- 
isters." Whereupon  Menno  was  much  frightened  and 
disturbed.  And  thus,  under  compulsion,  Menno  changed 
from  the  milder  to  the  stricter  doctrine  of  the  ban.**^ 
It  was  the  thing  which  caused  him  to  say  to  an  inti- 
mate friend  on  his  death-bed,  "  How  sorry  I  am  that  I 
consented  to  the  Avoidance  (Echfmydinghe)J^  And 
again,  "  Be  no  slave  of  men  as  I  have  been."  *^ 

Under  similar  circumstances,  as  the  event  proved, 
Derek  Philips  would  have  been  immovable  as  a  rock. 

^  Dat  Fundament  des  Christl.  Lenens  door  M.  S.,  quat.  R,  Vllf  a. 
""Alenson's  Tegenb^richt,  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  236, 
*»Idem,  258. 
♦^Idcxn,  2s8h 


116  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Yet  what  a  work  Menno  Simons  had  accomplished  be- 
fore he  died !  He  started  out  with  a  handful  of  despised, 
persecuted  Anabaptists;  he  left  behind  a  mighty  organ- 
ization, loosely  bound  together,  it  is  true,  but  still  stand- 
ing on  a  common  platform,  with  common  ideals ;  a  band 
of  men,  which  in  1561  had  a  mightier  hold  on  the  Low- 
lands than  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  And  to  that  end 
he  had  labored  more  than  any  of  the  other  leaders,  for  he 
had  greater  influence  and  a  larger  following  than  any  of 
them.  He  started  with  the  Philips  brothers,  David  Joris, 
Van  Batenburg,  and  others,  but  soon  they  dropped  by  the 
roadside.  When  he  died  only  Derek  Philips  was  left  as 
the  coleader  of  the  party  which  he  had  founded,  and  he 
had  outstripped  them  all. 

The  principal  works  of  Menno,  found  in  his  Opera 
Omnia  of  1681,  are  these  (I  translate  their  titles)  : 

1.  "  Christ  the  promised  Son  of  David  "  (against  John 
of  Leyden). 

2.  "  Of  the  spiritual  resurrection." 

3.  "  Of  the  new  Creature." 

4.  "  Of  the  right  Christian  faith." 
The  dates  of  these  four  are  uncertain. 

5.  "  The  fundamental  Book,"  1539. 

6.  "  Meditation  on  the  Twenty-fifth  Psalm,"  1539. 

7.  "  On  excommunication,"  1540. 

8.  "  Declaration  to  John  a  Lasco,  about  Christ's  hu- 
manity," 1543. 

9.  "  Explanation  of  Christian  Baptism,"  1543. 

10.  "  The  cause  of  M.  S.'s  teaching  and  writing  "  (  ?). 

11.  "  Of  the  triune  God,"  1550. 

12.  "  Answer  to  questions  about  the  ban,"  1550. 

13.  "  Of  the  cross  of  Christ  "  (  ?) . 

14.  "  Supplication  to  the  magistrates,"  1552. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  117 

15.  "A  justification  of  the  oppressed  Christians,  to  the 
preachers,"  1552. 

16.  "  Confession  about  points  in  debate,"  1552. 

17.  "  Justification  and  defense  against  lies  and  accusa- 
tions," 1553. 

18.  "Against  Cellius  Faber,"  1554. 

19.  "  About  Christ's  incarnation.  Against  John  a 
Lasco,"  1554. 

20.  "  How  a  Christian  is  to  be  disposed,  and  of  the 
Ban"  (?). 

21.  "  Answer  to  Martin  Micron,"  1556. 

22.  "  Discourse  on  Excommunication,"  1557. 

23.  "Of  child-discipline"  (?). 

24.  "  Answer  to  Zylis  and  Lememken,"  1559. 

In  his  polemic  he  resembled  his  contemporaries;  his 
mode  of  attack  was  often  coarse  and  vicious.  The  epi- 
thets used  in  these  debates  stagger  us,  the  children  of  a 
milder  age,  of  a  broader  outlook,  and  of  greater  tolerance. 
In  this  respect  Derek  Philips  far  surpasses  Menno;  his 
controversial  style  is  far  more  refined  and  almost  entirely 
free  from  personalities,  a  thing  which  even  his  most 
lenient  critic  could  not  say  of  Menno. 

I  will  not  devote  a  separate  paragraph  to  Leonard 
Bouwens,  and  the  other  secondary  leaders  of  the  Men- 
nonites,  because  we  shall  meet  them  again  and  again  in 
the  recital  of  the  events  which  mark  the  development  of 
the  Anabaptist  movement  in  the  Lowlands.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  Bouwens  was  sent  out,  as  a  bishop,  by  Derek 
Philips  and  Menno  Simons,  together  with  Gielis  van 
Aken,  in  1553,"  at  the  request  of  the  people."  ^^  Al- 
though very  successful  in  his  ministry,  especially  in  the 
Lowlands,  and  among  the  Frisians,  he  was  destined  to  be- 

^^B.  R.  N.,  X,  23, 


118  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

come  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  of  both  Derek  and  Menno. 
We  have  seen  already  how  he  compelled  Menno,  by  a 
threat  of  the  ban,  to  abandon  his  mild  policy  in  the  mat- 
ter of  excommunication  for  one  of  extreme  rigor.  And 
he  finally  came  into  deadly  conflict  with  Derek  Philips, 
who,  made  of  tougher  fiber,  scorned  his  threats  and  in 
turn  excommunicated  him.  Gielis  van  Aken  recanted, 
under  torture,  and  was  decapitated.*^ 

4,  The  Era  of  Schisms 

Public  debates  were  the  order  of  the  day  in  the  whole 
period  of  the  Reformation.  It  seemed  as  if  the  rabies 
disputandi  of  the  schools  of  the  Middle  Ages  had  been 
revived.  Thus  Lutherans  debated  with  the  Swiss  and 
with  the  Catholics ;  the  Swiss  debated  among  themselves 
and  in  fact  largely  settled  their  reformation  by  the  de- 
bates of  Bern  and  Basel.  Zwingli  debated  with  the 
Anabaptists.  The  Dutch  and  German  Anabaptists  de- 
bated with  the  Reformed  and  the  Lutherans,  and  they 
strenuously  debated  among  themselves.  After  a  fashion, 
their  convictions  in  re  certain  dogmas,  and  also  their 
views  of  life,  were  thus  settled,  but  on  the  other  hand 
the  door  was  opened  for  endless  schisms. 

And  the  Dutch  Protestants  in  general  shared  with  the 
Anabaptists  in  this  trait  of  disputatiousness  and  also  in 
that  of  a  decided  schismatic  tendency.  How  could  it  be 
otherwise  ?  The  mind,  set  free  from  the  bondage  of  scho- 
lasticism and  tradition,  had  to  exercise  its  newly  found 
liberty.  Lutheran  and  Calvinist  alike  believed  in  the  great 
principle  of  the  "  priesthood  of  all  believers  " ;  but  no- 
where was  this  principle  so  unduly  exalted  as  among  the 
Anabaptists.  If  the  latter  were  zealous  even  unto  fanati- 
cism, no  less  so  were  some  Protestants.    Think  of  Martin 

«  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  520. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  119 

Micron,  the  friend  and  colaboror  of  Utenhove,  in  the 
Dutch  church  of  London,  now  an  exile  for  Christ's  sake, 
a  man  small  of  stature  but  contentious  to  a  degree,  always 
aching  for  a  debate,  always  urging  some  disputation,  and 
of  course  always  considering  himself  the  victor. 

By  his  disputatiousness,  he  succeeded  in  having  the 
Reformed  driven  from  Hamburg,  where  they  had  been 
in  quiet  safety  before  his  arrival  among  them.  The 
Wismar  and  Liibeck  disputations  were  no  more  advan- 
tageous to  the  Reformed  cause  than  that  of  Hamburg. 
Everywhere  disaster  followed  his  strenuous  efforts,  and 
yet  he  was  ever  ready  to  renew  the  attempt. 

What  may  be  the  psychological  ground  for  this  conten- 
tious spirit?  For  to  a  certain  degree  it  was  common  to 
all.  Did  they  thus  search  for  that  certainty  and  fixedness 
of  faith,  which  they  had  lost  in  leaving  Rome  ? 

And  in  all  this  animosity  and  contentiousness  the  Ana- 
baptists were  the  common  object  of  hatred  of  all,  Prot- 
estants and  Catholics  alike. 

Think  of  the  incident,  which  happened  at  Wismar,  in 
1553.  Hermes  Backereel,  to  whom,  in  Micron's  absence, 
the  care  of  the  church  or  rather  of  the  group  of  Reformed 
exiles  had  been  entrusted,  insisted  on  a  debate  with  Menno 
Simons.  The  Anabaptists  informed  him  that  Menno  was 
not  there,  but  they  prevaricated,  for  Hermes  had  found 
out  Menno's  hiding-place  from  the  prattle  of  an  innocent 
child.***  Menno  then  appeared  and  debated  with  Hermes, 
who  broke  his  promise  of  secrecy  and  openly  pointed  out 
the  place  where  Menno  might  be  found.  And  this  though 
he  knew  full  well  that  the  Lutheran  preachers  of  Wismar 
deemed  the  death -penalty  none  too  heavy  for  Anabaptists 
and  incidentally  for  "  Sacramentarians  "  (nickname  for 
the  Reformed)  as  well. 

**  Myn  verborgene  woonstede  van  een  onnosel  kint  wtvraechdfi. 


120  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Debates  at  Haffnia,  at  Hamburg,  at  Liibeck,  at  Rostock, 
at  Wismar,  even  though  they  all  knew  that  the  eye  of 
the  enemy  was  upon  them  and  that  their  safety  lay  in 
keeping  quietly  under  cover ! 

The  Government  frequently  insisted  on  these  debates 
between  the  Anabaptists  and  the  Reformed,  evidently  in 
the  hope  of  converting  the  former.  Thus  came  o-ff  the 
Frankenthal  disputation  of  1571,  by  order  of  Frederick 
of  the  Palatinate,  where  Dathenus,  the  great  Reformed 
Dutch  field  preacher,  and  Rauf  debated  with  the  Anabap- 
tists. Again  at  Embden,  in  1578,  where  the  Reformed 
pastors  debated  with  Peter  van  Ceulen  and  his  associates ; 
and  again  at  Leeuwarden  in  Vriesland,  in  1596,  where 
Acronius  defended  the  Reformed  doctrine  and  Peter  van 
Ceulen  that  of  the  Mennonites.  Naturally  all  these  efforts 
at  union  failed. 

The  Lutheran  was  as  bitter  against  the  Zwinglians  and 
Calvinists  and  Anabaptists  as  he  was  against  Rome,  only 
more  so.  And  the  compliment  was  returned  with  avidity. 
Each  thought  and  taught  that  he  had  found  and  founded 
the  "true  Church."  The  bitter  spirit  of  exclusion  and 
seclusion,  which  had  characterized  Judaism,  revealed  it- 
self again  among  the  children  of  the  Reformation,  and 
ages  were  to  pass  before  the  spirit  of  mutual  toleration 
and  appreciation,  and  better  understanding  and  a  broader, 
mellower,  and  more  clear-eyed  spirit  revealed  itself. 

It  was  an  age  of  general  intolerance,  an  intolerance 
which  revealed  itself  at  home  and  abroad.  Let  me  cite 
a  single  example.  In  1564,  the  Dutch  Reformed  church 
at  London,  founded  under  Edward  VI,  exiled  under 
"Bloody  Mary,"  and  restored  again  by  Elizabeth,  had 
attained  great  prosperity.  Yet  so  simple  a  question  as 
an  agitation  about  the  procedure  to  be  followed  when 
an  infant  was  presented  for  baptism — mind  you  not  the 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  121 

mode  of  baptism  but  simply  the  ecclesiastical  procedure 
that  went  before — practically  ruined  the  church.  Cool- 
tuyn,  a  pastor  of  the  Embden  church,  was  called  in  as 
arbitrator  and  spent  half  a  year  in  trying  to  settle  the 
matter.  Yet  no  sooner  had  he  returned  to  Embden,  but 
the  agitation  broke  out  anew  and  nearly  ruined  the 
church. 

We  will  not  be  amazed  then  if  we  find  this  spirit  of  con- 
tentiousness to  abound  among  the  followers  of  Menno 
Simons  and  Derek  Philips. 

How  could  it  be  otherwise?  Nowhere  individualism 
held  such  supreme  sway  as  among  the  Anabaptists.  Each 
man  read  the  Scriptures  for  himself;  other  books  being 
practically  interdicted,  except  such  as  belonged  to  his  own 
circle. 

If  it  be  true  that,  the  old  Dutch  Anabaptists  had  paid 
little  attention  to  the  Scriptures,  and  had  placed  their  own 
visions  and  fanciful  interpretations  of  the  truth  far  above 
the  simple  words  of  Holy  Writ,  not  so  with  the  Men- 
nonites. 

They  studied  the  Scriptures  ardently,  they  knew  them 
as  few  Protestants  did ;  witness  their  quickness  in  repartee 
and  especially  the  inexhaustible  wealth  of  Scripture  quo- 
tations, in  the  proces  verbal  of  the  examination  of  their 
martyrs,  before  the  Inquisitorial  tribunals. 

Thus  a  sternness  of  opinion  was  created,  which  coupled 
with  the  native  Dutch  stubbornness  and  a  firm  conviction 
of  duty,  naturally  and  inevitably  led  to  endless  schisms. 
In  the  decades  following  the  death  of  Menno  Simons, 
the  centrifugal  force  wholly  preponderated  over  the  cen- 
tripetal among  his  followers. 

Schisms  had  occurred  even  before  his  death;  after  it, 
they  multiplied  with  amazing  rapidity.  No  one  can  study 
these  endless  schisms  among  the  Dutch  Mennonites  with- 


122  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

out  the  assistance  of  Carel  van  Ghent's  "  Beginning  of 
the  Schisms  "  (Beginsel  der  Scheuringen). 

Many  of  the  followers  of  Menno  had  followed  his  ex- 
ample in  trying  to  break  entirely  with  the  Miinster  party 
and  in  making  themselves  believe  that  their  so-called 
"  mission ''  had  a  different  origin  from  that  of  the  Miin- 
sterites. 

This  contention  is  mercilessly  exposed  by  a  document, 
originally  printed  in  Latin  and  found  as  an  addendum 
behind  Carel's  "  Beginning/'  in  the  Bibliotheca:  *^ 

1.  Jan  Matthysz,  a  baker  at  Haarlem,  simply  ran  on  his  own 
account.  [He  was  baptized  and  ordained  by  Jan  Trypmaker,  the 
disciple  and  associate  of  Hoffman. — H.  E.  D.],  and  unjustly 
called  himself  "  Elias,"  sent  from  God.  He  first  sent,  to  Vries- 
land,  Bartholomew  Boekbinder  and  Dirk  Kuyper,  to  preach  and 
to  baptize. 

2.  These,  Bartholomew  and  Dirk,  coming  to  Leeuwarden,  there 
have  baptized  and  ordained,  with  the  laying  on  of  hands  and 
have  sent  out  with  apostolic  power,  to  teach  and  to  baptize,  Ubbo 
Philips,  John  the  Barber,  and  others. 

3.  Ubbo  Philips  thereupon,  as  appears  from  his  Confession, 
has  sent  out  in  the  same  way  Dirck  Philips,  his  brother,  Menno 
Simons,  and  many  others. 

4.  Thereupon  Derek  Philips  sent  out,  after  the  same  manner, 
John  Lubberts,  Lubbert  Gerrits,  and  many  others. 

5.  Finally  Lubbert  Gerrits,  when  he  was  almost  dying,  among 
many  others,  after  the  laying  on  of  hands,  has  sent  out  Gerrit 
Reynier  Wybrants,  who  was  then  still  living. 

In  this  and  no  other  way,  or  by  no  other  means  or  authority, 
thereafter  the  sending  out  and  ordination  of  ministers,  among 
the  Flemings  and  other  Anabaptist  sects,  as  many  as  there  may 
be,  has  taken  its  origin.  And  thereafter  the  one  sent  out  and 
ordained  the  other,  up  to  the  present  day. 

Now  as  to  whether  this  so  highly  exalted  ordination  and 
mission  of  the  aforesaid  preachers  actually  is  from  heaven  or 
from  man,  believers  and  spiritually  minded  men,  who  can  dis- 
tinguish things  rightly  and  uprightly,  may  judge. 

«B,  R.  N.,  VII,  558. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  123 

What  is  this  "  Commencement "  (Beginsel)  of  Carel 
van  Ghent?  It  is  one  of  the  chief  (if  not  the  chief) 
sources  of  information  concerning  the  schisms  among  the 
Anabaptists  in  the  sixteenth  century.  It  was  printed 
after  the  death  of  the  author,  and  we  do  not  know  his 
true  name.  But  internal  evide|;^ce  in  the  book  itself  seems 
to  point  conclusively  to  Carel  van  Ghent,  who  joined  the 
Anabaptists  as  a  young  man  of  twenty-two  years,  in 
1563,  after  he  had  studied  for  the  Romish  priesthood. 
He  joined  that  group  of  Menno's  followers  who  four 
years  later  were  to  split  into  two  bodies — the  Flemings 
and  the  Frisians.  He  was  put  under  the  ban  in  1568. 
Later  he  was  received  again  by  the  Flemings,  and  he 
was  their  clerk  at  the  Embden  disputation  of  1578.  Two 
years  later,  in  1580,  he  was  "  banned  "  again  and  there- 
after sought  reinstatement  in  vain.  He  then  apparently 
became,  like  so  many  expelled  Anabaptists,  an  ecclesias- 
tical free-lance,  a  sort  of  pietistic  mystic,  without  any 
church  connection.  But  the  entire  contents  of  the  book 
point  him  out  as  a  naturally  pious  man. 

If  one  doubts  it,  let  him  listen  to  the  close  of  the 
book:*« 

Thus  from  the  stress  of  my  soul,  I  must  henceforth,  in  my 
old  age,  by  the  gracious  illumination  of  my  Lord,  turn  to 
and  accommodate  myself  to  the  internal  rather  than  to  the  ex- 
ternal, to  the  heavenly  from  the  earthly,  and  from  the  soiled  .  .  . 
signs,  to  what  they  truly  and  spiritually  mean.  And  thus,  with- 
out rejecting  or  despising  any  one,  I  must  await  with  patience 
the  gracious  rest  of  my  soul  (death)  and  also  the  glorious  ap- 
pearance of  Christ  my  Lord  and  God  and  the  resurrection  of 
those  who  belong  to  him. 

The  whole  tone  of  the  book,  its  bitterness  to  Protestantism 
in  general,  and  its  apologetic  attitude  for  faults,  which  he 

*«B.   R.   N..  VII,  494. 


124  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

freely  criticizes  in  the  Anabaptist  circles,  prove  that  the 
author  never  lost  his  first  love. 

And  this  conviction  increases  our  estimate  of  the  his- 
torical value  of  his  revelations  concerning  the  schisms 
among  the  Anabaptists.  No  one  can  read  the  introduction 
to  the  book  and  mistake  the  author's  standing.  He 
died  a  loyal  Anabaptist  at  heart.  Sometimes  he  severely 
criticizes,  as  when  he  slashes  away  at  the  evil  practises 
sometimes  occuring  in  connection  with  the  ban  and  avoid- 
ance. Says  he,*^  ''  If  it  were  necessary  and  profitable  the 
author  could  name  some  who  were  snatched  away  from 
their  excommunicated  husbands  without  the  latter  being 
able  to  detect  where  they  were  taken.."  And  he  writes 
these  words  not  from  hearsay,  but  from  personal  knowl- 
edge. 

De  Hoop  Scheffer  was  at  first  suspicious  of  this  book, 
but  came  to  see  differently  later  on.  Dr.  S.  Cramer,  on 
the  other  hand,  "  does  not  see  why  we  should  have  to 
use  greater  circumspection  here  than  that  which  every 
historian  must  exercise  over  against  every  informant." 
Dr.  De  Hoop  Scheffer  had  spoken  of  bitter  denunciations 
and  hard  accusations  against  the  brotherhood,  but  Doctor 
Cramer  denies  this  and  proves  conclusively  that  the  author 
was  at  least  as  fair  and  open-minded  in  his  strictures  as 
were  the  best  of  his  contemporaries.*^ 

Rome  brought  this  charge  of  dissent  and  of  a  general 
tendency  to  schism  not  only  against  the  Anabaptists,  but 
against  all  Protestant  bodies,  as  she  studied  their  internal 
development,  when  the  break  from  Rome  had  become  an 
accomplished  fact. 

Says  Joannis  Bunderius,  the  great  Dominican  antago- 
nist of  Anastasius  Veluanus,  whom  I  have  quoted  in  an- 

«B.  R.  N.,  VII,  501. 
♦8B.  R.  N.,  VII,  502. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  125 

other  lecture,  whilst  bitterly  attacking  the  latter 's  "  Lay- 
mans  Guide  "  (Lekenwechwyser) :  *^ 

When  faith  is  one  and  the  same,  there  should  be  mutual  accord 
between  the  articles  of  faith,  and  no  discord.  The  Catholic 
faith,  received  from  Peter  and  Paul,  till  now  has  been  preserved 
unpolluted  and  has  not  been  weakened  by  internal  dissensions. 
But  your  faith  counts  as  many  sects  as  there  are  heretical 
leaders. 

In  line  with  this,  there  is  a  biting  criticism  of  V.  P.  in 
the  Successio  Anabaptistica,  another  valuable  source  for 
our  knowledge  of  the  schisms  among  the  Anabaptists :  ^^ 

They  form  an  army  against  the  Catholics,  as  the  Midianites 
against  Gideon;  and  when  they  plan  to  fight  the  enemy,  they 
fall  out  among  themselves,  each  man's  sword  is  turned  against 
his  neighbor,  and  with  biting  and  banning,  scolding  and  quarrel- 
ing, they  so  destroy  each  other  that  from  the  village  church  they 
can  scarcely  fill  a  Httle  loft  of  their  own  sect. 

The  main  cause  of  the  schisms  in  the  early  Church, 
during  the  great  persecutions,  from  the  Hippolitan  schism 
of  217  A.  D.  till  the  Donatist  schism  of  311  A.  D.,  was 
invariably  the  treatment  of  the  lapsi;  church  discipline, 
therefore.  And  among  the  Anabaptists  it  was  again  the 
subject  of  discipline  which  formed  the  main  cause  of 
disruptions. 

Discipline,  the  ban  and  its  rigorous  application  in  the 
case  of  married  people,  in  avoidance,  these  were  the  three 
main  reasons  of  all  ruptures  among  them.  We  find, 
coupled  with  these,  at  a  later  period,  the  doctrine  of  the 
incarnation.  As  an  accidental  matter  of  difference,  we 
find  the  various  answers  to  the  question,  "  What  is  a  dis- 
ciplinary offense?"  The  Flemings  would  answer,  "All 
luxury,  pride,  ostentatiousness  in  dress,  splendid  house- 
furnishings,  all  these  make  one  liable  to  discipline."    The 

"B.    R.   N.,  IV,   117.  ^'B.  R.  N.,  VII,  83. 


126  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Waterlandians  would  have  none  of  all  that,  and  they 
would  answer,  "  Only  Scriptural  offenses  are  to  be  thus 
considered."  And  between  these  two  groups  we  find  also 
an  intense  difference  as  to  the  treatment  of  those  under 
discipline.  The  first,  true  to  their  national,  vehement 
character,  especially  where  this  was  reenforced  by  the 
stern  Frisian  temperament,  would  have  those  under  dis- 
cipline to  be  treated  as  if  they  were  dead,  even  in  the 
family  circle;  no  contact  whatever  was  permitted  in  any 
conceivable  way,  no  pity  might  be  shown. 

The  Waterlandians,  on  the  other  hand,  milder  and 
broader  from  the  start,  only  avoided  particular  intimacy, 
but  for  the  rest  they  assumed  a  conciliatory  attitude. 

Let  us  try  to  obtain  a  coup  d'oeil  of  the  various  groups 
among  the  followers  of  Menno,  as  they  stood  about  the 
time  of  his  death. 

1.  The  Miinster  party  was  practically  dead.  It  lived  on 
only  in  a  straggling  way,  as  in  the  sect  of  the  Baten- 
burgers,  whose  leader,  a  thorough  Miinsterite,  had  died 
a  martyr's  death. 

2.  The  Adam  Pastorites  still  formed  a  considerable, 
though  dwindling  body  along  the  upper  Rhine. 

3.  The  House  of  Love,  followers  of  Hendrick  Nik- 
laes,  existed  as  scattered  remnants  here  and  there,  whom 
we  perhaps  meet  in  the  Dutch  "  Naked-runners  "  (Naakt- 
loopers). 

4.  The  party  of  Sebastian  Franck,  negligible  as  a  dis- 
tinct Anabaptist  development. 

5.  The  Meerlanders  were  a  small  group  about  Aix  la 
Qiapelle,  standing  by  themselves  and  distinguished  by 
communism.  They  called  themselves  "  The  Dutch  Con- 
gregation" (De  Nederlandsche  Ghemeynte). 

All  these  are  only  of  passing  interest  and  have  very 
little  bearing  on  oyr  subject, 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  127 

6.  The  "  Old  Congregation."  These  were  the  follow- 
ers of  Menno  Simons  and  Derek  Philips  and  were  known 
as  the  "  Hard  Banners,"  because  they  were  rigid  in  the 
application  of  the  ban. 

7.  The  "  New  Congregation,"  who  had  been  excom- 
municated by  Menno  and  Derek  and  Leonard  Bouwens, 
because  they  were  unwilling  to  adopt  the  harsh  measures 
proposed.  They  were  known  as  the  "  Soft  Banners,"  on 
account  of  their  leniency ;  also  the  "  Overland  Church  " 
or  "  Waterlandians,"  from  their  location. 

8.  The  Frisians,  mainly  churches  founded  by  Leon- 
ard Bouwens.  It  is  with  these  Frisians  and  Flemings  and 
Waterlandians,  or  the  "  New  Congregation,"  that  we  are 
chiefly  concerned,  for  from  them  in  the  main  was  to  grow 
the  body  which  till  this  day  is  known  as  the  Doopsgezinde 
Gemeente  (The  Mennonite  Church)  in  the  Netherlands. 

The  first  serious  schism  had  occurred  in  1555,  as  has 
been  said,  and  it  had  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the 
New  Congregation.  Their  leaders  were  Joris  Heins  and 
Hendrick  Naaldman;  and  Bouwens  had  viciously  called 
them  "  The  Garbage  Cart "  (Dreckwaghen),  because  they 
received  in  their  membership  people  who  had  been 
"  banned  "  by  other  Anabaptist  sects.  And  yet  they  were 
destined  to  become  the  leaders  of  the  Dutch  Mennonites, 
though  they  were  the  earliest  schismatics. 

They  adopted  the  following  six  points  as  a  sort  of 
church  program :  ^^ 

1.  There  can  be  no  marriage  in  case  one  is  under  the 
sentence  of  the  ban  and  avoidance.  Even  in  case  of  adul- 
tery neither  the  guilty  nor  innocent  can  be  married  again. 

2.  Christ  took  his  human  nature  from  heaven. 

3.  No  Christian  may  bear  the  sword. 

»B.  R.  N.,  VII,  466,  467.  524. 


128  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

4.  No  Christian  may  seek  justice  in  the  civil  courts. 
^      5.  Christ  died  only  for  Adani's,  i.  e.,  for  original,  sin, 
not  for  our  later  sins. 

6.  Christ  reigns  on  this  earth,  since  his  resurrection, 
with  his  own  people,  till  he  deliver  the  kingdom  to  his 
Father. 

These  points  were  not  in  the  nature  of  a  confession 
of  faith,  but  only  the  loosest  possible  basis  of  agreement. 

In  1559  the  separation  occurred  between  the  Mennon- 
ites  and  the  followers  of  Zyles  and  Lemke.  The  latter 
desired  a  moderate  application  of  the  Wismar  articles  of 
1554,  which  would  p*ermit  contact  with  those  who  were 
banned  "  in  case  of  necessity."  ^^  And  they  also  wanted 
to  modify  the  law  of  avoidance  in  case  of  conscientious 
scruples.  The  Zyles-Lemke  party  were  now  excommuni- 
cated and  thus  the  Germans  separated  from  the  Ehitch 
Mennonites.^^ 

But  a  more  serious  danger  threatened  in  1565;  so  seri- 
ous in  fact  that  it  shook  the  brotherhood  to  its  very  foun- 
dations. 

Four  cities  in  Vriesland — Leeuwarden,  Dokkum,  Frane- 
ker,  and  Harlingen — ^had  formed  a  sort  of  alliance  among 
their  Mennonite  congregations.  It  had  regard  partly  to 
the  maintenance  of  the' services  of  their  churches  and  also 
those  of  certain  villages  and  islands;  and  partly  to  some 
merely  domestic  arrangements.  But  some  of  the  stricter 
constructionists  of  Mennonite  practise  saw  in  this  move 
the  violation  of  a  fundamental  principle.  They  claimed 
that  the  Scriptures  were  a  sufficient  covenant,  and  that 
beyond  them  nothing  was  needed  or  permitted.^* 

Here  was  the  foundation  of  all  the  trouble  that  fol- 
lowed. 

«B.   R.  N.,  VII,   52.  S3  Idem,  56,   527.  "Idem,   536. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  129 

But  there  was  another  and  a  more  subtle  cause  of 
friction.  Leonard  Bouwens,  the  popular  founder  of  most 
of  the  Frisian  churches,  had  been  put  under  the  ban 
and  had  been  deposed  from  his  ministry,  in  this  same 
year  1565,  by  Derek  Philips  and  six  other  pastors  "  for 
some  great  sin."  What  was  the  nature  of  the  offense  is 
wholly  unknown.  None  of  the  ancient  sources  throws  a 
ray  of  light  on  the  mystery.  His  frequent  and  prolonged 
absences  from  his  charge  at  Embden  had  caused  great 
dissatisfaction  there.  But  this  was  not  the  cause  of  his 
deposition.  Whatever  it  was,  his  judges  were  merciful 
and  kept  the  cause  of  their  harsh  sentence  entirely  secret, 
and  whatever  the  cause,  it  was  serious  enough  to  prohibit 
him,  self-willed  as  he  was,  from  defying  the  sentence. 
He  passed  from  thenceforth  out  of  the  ministry  of  the 
Mennonite  churches. 

But  he  was  deeply  angry  and  terribly  wounded  by  this 
humiliation.  Being  an  imperious  and  impulsive  man, 
and  exercising  a  tremendous  influence  in  Vriesland,  where 
he  had  thousands  of  converts,  he  was  a  dangerous  foe  for 
his  old  friend  and  bishop,  who  had  ordained  him  to  the 
ministry.  And  Derek  Philips  was  destined  to  feel  the 
weight  of  his  displeasure. 

Was  he  the  ultimate  cause  of  the  great  schism?  Who 
can  tell  us? 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  Bouwens,  on  leaving  Embden, 
had  moved  to  Vriesland  and  had  settled  down  in  the 
country  near  Harlingen,  where  he  nursed  his  grievances 
in  silence.  And  it  is  still  more  significant  that  Ebbe 
Pieters,  the  Mennonite  pastor  of  Harlingen  and  the  spe- 
cial object  of  the  antagonism  of  Jeroen  Tinnegieter,  the 
leader  of  the  schismatics,  was  one  of  the  seven  judges 
who  had  deposed  Bouwens. 

Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  this  Franeker  dispute, 
I 


130  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

in  which  Tinnegieter  figured,  and  which  led  to  all  the 
trouble. 

During  the  severe  persecution  in  the  South  many  Flem- 
ish Anabaptists  had  migrated  to  Vriesland,  where  the 
placards  were  less  strenuously  enforced,  and  had  joined 
the  brotherhood  there.  From  the  start  there  was  some 
friction  between  the  two  nationalities.  The  Frisians  were 
neater  and  more  elaborate  in  their  domestic  arrange- 
ments; while  the  Flemish  dressed  more  ostentatiously 
abroad  and  were  less  particular  at  home.  Some  mutual 
recriminations  were  indulged  in  and  thus  the  seed  was 
sown  for  dissension.  There  was  some  dispute  about  at- 
tending the  funerals  of  "  outsiders."  Jeroen  Tinnegieter, 
the  teacher  of  the  Flemish  Anabaptists  at  Franeker,  had 
serious  grievances  against  Ebbe  Pieters,  the  pastor  at 
Harlingen.  In  the  spring  of  1556,  he  called  a  meeting 
at  night.  There  was  some  discussion  about  the  covenant 
between  the  four  cities,  and  six  of  the  members  of  the 
consistory  insisted  on  maintaining  it.  Jeroen  and  his 
followers  summarily  suspended  them  from  their  office. 
Ebbe  heard  of  it  the  next  day,  on  his  way  to  Leeuwarden, 
where  he  spread  the  news.  The  Flemish  now  accused 
him  of  lying  and  of  creating  discord  and  demanded  his 
appearance  for  a  hearing.  Ebbe  appeared  and  Hoyte 
Reynix  of  Bolsward  was  present  as  judge  (with  a  few 
other  pastors),  who  however  had  received  no  mandate 
from  his  church  to  act  in  that  capacity.  Forty  people 
attended  the  meeting  and,  with  a  vote  of  twenty-five 
against  fifteen,  declared  Ebbe  innocent.  Jeroen  was  ab- 
sent at  the  time,  but  on  his  return,  demanded  a  rehearing 
of  the  case  and  accused  Ebbe  before  his  own  church  at 
Harlingen.  A  meeting  for  this  purpose  was  called  by  a 
certain  Michael  Jans,  who  sided  with  the  Flemish,  for 
August  7,  1566.     Of  the  four  hundred  members  of  the 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  131 

church  only  thirty  appeared;  but  these  thirty  banned 
and  deposed  Ebbe.  The  followers  of  Ebbe  did  not  accept 
this  ridiculous  sentence,  and  they  retaliated  by  banning 
members  of  the  other  party,  both  at  Harlingen  and  Frane- 
ker.  The  thing,  originally  a  farce,  now  developed  into 
a  struggle  between  the  defenders  and  the  opponents  of 
the  "  covenant  between  the  four  cities." 

When  the  strife  increased,  Derek  Philips  wrote  his 
famous  epistle  anent  the  "  Covenant,"  ^^  to  which  was 
added  an  official  document,  signed  by  all  the  pastors  who 
had  deposed  Bouwens.  Why  this  addendum  to  his  letter, 
if  Bouwens  was  not  suspected  of  fomenting  the  strife  in 
Vriesland?  The  letter  was  very  conciliatory  and  ad- 
monished to  brotherly  love  and  forbearance.  It  specially 
emphasized  the  relations  between  church  and  pastor. 
God,  he  told  them,  called  pastors,  the  church  ordained 
them,  and  each  church  was  entitled  to  the  services  of  its 
own  pastor.  Here  again  was  a  palpable  reminder  of  the 
offense  Bouwens  had  given  at  Embden  by  his  repeated 
absences.  One  feels  all  the  time  in  reading  the  letter 
that  Derek  keeps  Bouwens  continually  in  mind. 

But  the  epistle  failed  of  its  purpose  and  the  dissension 
grew  apace.  De  Hoop  Scheffer  has  clearly  shown  that 
the  great  increase  in  the  Reformed  Qiurch  in  the  Nether- 
lands synchronizes  with  the  bitter  schisms,  which  started 
among  the  Mennonites,  in  1566.  It  was  so  in  Harlingen 
and  in  other  places  in  Vriesland.^* 

The  Flemish  decided  to  put  the  six  elders,  mentioned 
above,  under  the  ban  and  thus  to  confirm  their  original 
sentence,  but  they  did  not  immediately  act  on  this  de- 
cision; when  suddenly  a  perfect  ban-storm  broke  out  all 
over.    It  was  rather  a  brain-storm  and  it  threatened  to 

55  B.  R.  N.,  X,  517  p. 

^  Het  Verbond  der  Viet  Steden,  1893. 


132  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

consume  the  entire  brotherhood,  as  with  fire.  In  their 
utter  distraction,  a  mutual  attempt  was  made  to  patch 
up  some  sort  of  peace.  Both  parties  to  the  controversy 
agreed  to  call  in  two  pastors  of  the  church  of  Hoorn,  in 
North  Holland,  Jan  Willems  and  Lubbert  Gerrits,  as 
arbitrators.  They  came,  investigated  the  matter  and  pro- 
nounced their  verdict  at  Harlingen,  in  the  presence  of 
both  parties.  Both  were  decided  to  have  been  at  fault, 
and  they  were  mutually  to  confess  their  guilt  and  to  make 
a  permanent  peace.  They  were  to  do  so  kneeling.  The 
Frisians  made  confession  and  rose  from  the  floor;  the 
Flemish  followed  suit;  but  as  they  were  about  to  rise, 
they  were  told  that  they  must  remain  kneeling,  till  they 
were  assisted  to  rise,  inasmuch  as  they  had  been  the 
aggressors. 

Knowing  that  this  meant,  according  to  Anabaptist  cus- 
tom, that  thereafter  not  one  of  them  would  be  eligible 
to  office,  they  arose  as  one  man,  and  repudiated  their  con- 
fession. This  was  in  1567.  The  only  exception  was  that 
of  Michael  Jans,  mentioned  above,  who  had  announced  to 
Ebbe  Pieters  the  sentence  of  the  ban.  The  next  day  he 
exclaimed,  with  a  flood  of  tears,  to  Carel  van  Ghent :  ^"^ 

O  God,  have  we  poor  people  allowed  ourselves  to  be  deluded, 
in  our  search  of  the  Scriptures,  running  after  trouble  and  dis- 
sent, and  not  after  peace,  love,  and  unity!  O  God,  give  me 
grace  that  I  may  be  redeemed  from  this  amazing  madness  and 
may  live  for  half  a  year  in  a  quiet  and  peaceful  place.  Then  I 
will  gladly  sacrifice  my  body  for  my  faith. 

His  prayer  was  heard ;  he  moved  to  a  village  near  Brielle, 
and  died  a  martyr  within  the  year. 

Nearly  all  the  churches  in  Groningen,  Embden,  East 
Frisia,  Brabant,  and  Flanders  now  took  the  side  of  the 
Flemish,  and  Derek  Philips  demanded  that  the  Frisians 

"B.  R.  N.,  VII,  542. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  133 

and  the  arbitrators  of  the  quarrel  appear  before  him,  at 
Embden,  to  have  the  matter  adjudicated.  As  they  refused 
to  come  they  were  all  "  banned  "  by  the  Embden  church, 
and  the  Flemish  were  adjudged  to  be  in  the  right  in  the 
quarrel.  The  latter  now  began  to  rebaptize  Frisians  who 
joined  them.  They  followed  the  example  set  them  by 
those  of  Embden  and  decided  (I  quote  literally) : 

To  pronounce  a  general  and  universal  ban,  with  the  strong 
effect  and  corollary  thereof,  namely  avoidance  of  all  Frisian 
Anabaptists,  of  whatever  kind  they  may  be,  men,  women,  and 
children,  servants,  maids,  old  and  young,  educated  or  unedu- 
cated, guilty  or  guiltless. 

It  sounds  almost  like  a  papal  ban,  and  it  seems  to  us  a 
psychological  riddle  that  men  could  ever  be  carried  away 
by  a  blind  passion,  as  these  were.  And  yet,  I  am  sure, 
they  thought  they  were  doing  God  service.  A  few  mem- 
bers of  both  parties  made  peace,  in  1574,  at  Homster- 
land,  in  the  province  of  Groningen.  From  the  place 
where  the  compromise  was  made,  it  is  called  the  "  Hom- 
ster  Peace."  But  the  peacemakers  were  repudiated  by 
both  parties,  and  thus  but  added  another  to  the  long  list 
of  Anabaptist  sects  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

Four  years  later,  this  "  Homster  Peace  "  became  the 
subject  of  a  debate  at  Embden,  whether  to  cancel  or  extend 
it.  Alas,  the  majority  decided  for  cancellation!  Pieter 
van  Ceulen  now  leaped  into  the  limelight,  as  a  defender 
of  the  peace-party.  The  Embden  pastors  then  formally  de- 
cided to  visit  Groningen  and  to  settle  the  matter  in  situ, 
with  the  astonishing  result  that  they  resolved  to  per- 
petuate the  break  between  the  Flemish  and  the  Frisians. 
The  schism  now  became  a  public  scandal. 

Another  effort  at  pacification  was  made  at  Hoom  in 
1576,  but  it  proved  a  lamentable  failure;  for  the  Flemish, 


134  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

on  account  of  their  former  experience,  resisted  all  efforts 
at  conciliation  with  the  utmost  stubbornness. 

Derek  Philips,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Church,  nay 
with  Menno  the  chief  founder,  was  now  put  under  the 
ban  by  his  opponents;  and  repHed  to  this  action  by  an 
"  Appendix  to  Our  Little  Book  on  the  Dissension  "  (Ap- 
pendix  aen  ons  boecsken  van  den  Twistigen  Handel).  In 
the  letter,  accompanying  the  ban,  names  and  places  had 
been  given  in  full;  and  of  that  act,  as  a  betrayal  of  the 
brethren  so  named,  Derek  bitterly  complains ;  ^®  of  the 
epistle  itself  he  says,  "  a  more  abominably  slanderous 
epistle  we  have  not  seen  nor  read  in  our  lifetime.'* 

One  of  the  Flemish  delegates  to  this  meeting  was  Jan 
van  Ophoorn,  pastor  of  the  Flemish  church  at  Embden, 
who  had  imagined  to  see  in  the  proposals  for  reconcilia- 
tion at  Hoorn  "  all  manner  of  snares  and  pitfalls,  pre- 
pared for  them  by  their  opponents."  Later  on,  in  an 
access  of  schismatic  fury,  he  separated  from  his  own 
party,  as  having  departed  from  the  truth.  Unable  to  start 
a  new  sect,  and  believing  himself  and  wife  the  only  be- 
lievers left,  he  founded  a  church  at  his  house  between 
them,  remembering  the  Master's  "  where  two  or  three." 
He  then  solemnly  proceeded  to  place  all  the  Flemish 
pastors  under  the  ban.  Poor  and  forlorn  and  lonely  he 
died  at  Norden.^' 

This  great  schism  did  not  prevent  several  smaller  ones 
from  budding  and  springing  into  a  more  or  less  vigor- 
ous life. 

Thus  the  sale  of  a  house  at  Franeker,  apparently  a 
somewhat  questionable  transaction,  led  in  1586,  to  the 
forming  of  the  sect  of  the  "  Housebuyers  "  (Huiscopers), 
who  were  led  by  Thomas  Bintgens,  and  opposed  by  J.  K., 
whom  Dr.  S.  Cramer  identifies  with  the  celebrated  Jaques 

esfi.  R.  N..  X,   589,  p.  ^»B.   R.  N.,  VII,  70. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  135 

Outerman,  whose  followers  continued  to  call  themselves 
Flemish.  Thus  we  have  two  new  sects,  the  "  Anti-house- 
buyers  "  as  well  as  the  "  Housebuyers."  ^^ 

At  Dantzig  meanwhile  another  little  group  had  seceded, 
when  its  pastor,  Quyryn  vander  Meulen,  had  been  banned 
by  Hans  de  Wever  and  Jacob  van  der  Meulen.  Says  the 
Successio  Anabaptistica:  ®^ 

These  have  so  troubled  the  aforesaid  heads  with  disputing, 
arguing,  and  the  allegation  of  many  Scriptures,  that  they  saw 
no  way  to  defend  their  opinion;  and  as  it  is  the  nature  of  pride 
rather  to  fall  into  the  abyss  of  hell  than  to  turn  toward  love, 
with  abnegation  of  self,  they  remained  obstinate,  as  Hans  and 
Vermoelen  saw  it,  and  therefore  were  banned  by  them. 

They  are  known  in  Anabaptist  history  as  the  "  Concerned 
Ones"  (Bekommerden), 

This  same  Jacob  van  der  Meulen  figures  in  another 
schism,  whereby  the  Housebuyers  were  split  again,  in 
1598,  by  the  expulsion  of  the  so-called  "  Bankrupt  Party  " 
(Bancquerottiers),  at  Haarlem.  The  trouble  arose 
through  the  bankruptcy  of  one  of  the  members  of  the 
church,®-  for  and  against  the  excommunication  of  whom 
the  members  ranged  themselves  in  two  parties.  Let  me 
omit  further  tiresome  details.  Enough  has  been  said  to 
show  that  no  division  of  Protestantism  sinned  as  griev- 
ously through  schismatic  contentions  as  did  the  Anabap- 
tists. Somehow,  in  studying  their  history,  one  is  ever 
reminded  of  the  frequently  recurring  statement  in  the 
book  of  Judges :  "  In  those  days  there  was  no  king  in 
Israel;  every  man  did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own 
eyes." 

Meanwhile  the  Frisians  had  split  among  themselves 
again  into  "  Young  "  or  "  Soft "  and  "  Old  "  or  "  Hard  " 

""B.  R.  N.,  VII,  70,  SS4. 

ei  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  70.  ««  b.  R.  N..  VII,   SSS- 


136  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Frisians.  The  Genjians  made  a  peace-pact  with  the 
former  in  1591,  and  in  1601  the  Waterlandians  joined 
this  new  group,  alas,  only  to  separate  from  them  again 
in  1613,  in  Holland,  Vriesland,  and  elsewhere.  The  cen- 
tripetal force  was  not  yet  ready  to  assert  itself. 

How  bitter  was  the  antagonism,  as  late  as  1613,  appears 
from  the  thirty-three  articles,  printed  with  the  new  Mar- 
tyrs' Book,  in  that  year,  against  which  Alenson  wrote  his 
"  Apology  "  (Tegenbericht).  The  spirit  of  criticism  and 
of  depreciation  of  the  opponent  party  displayed  in  them 
is  very  offensive.®^ 

And  in  judging  of  this  matter,  let  us  not  forget  that 
they  who  edited  this  book  and  who  wrote  these  articles 
were  the  liberals  of  their  day  among  the  Mennonites. 
And  yet,  even  when  they  tried  to  be  conciliatory,  they 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  mingle  a  little  gall  with 
the  cup  of  peace,  they  poured  out. 

It  was  after  all  but  a  struggle  between  two  great 
principles,  between  the  rigorists  and  the  moderates,  be- 
tween implacable  justice  and  divine  mercy.  And  though 
they  knew  it  not,  it  touched  the  vital  point  of  their  whole 
church  polity,  absolute  individualism  in  all  congregational 
matters.  The  later  Congregational  polity  is  built  on  the 
original  Anabaptist  doctrine.  A  council  might  carry 
some  weight,  its  advice  might  be  good  or  bad,  but  it  had 
no  final  jurisdiction,  no  absolute  authority.  The  local 
church  alone  possessed  this  power.  Individualism  was 
the  vitium  originis  of  the  whole  Anabaptist  movement, 
and  it  limited  its  possibilities  for  the  future;  while  its 
very  constitution  made  the  endless  disruptions  of  which  I 
have  been  speaking  a  foregone  conclusion.  Granted  a 
heterogeneous  aggregate,  made  up  of  many  different  na- 
tionalities, each  with  its  own  peculiar  idiosyncrasies,  with- 

«»»,  3R,  N.,  VII,  «?8, 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  137 

out  any  central  organization  or  controlling  power,  like 
that  which  constituted  the  Anabaptist  movement,  and  the 
wonder  is  not  that  they  split  up  into  so  many  parties,  but 
rather  that  two  of  them  remained  together. 

These  endless  schisms  were  like  a  heavy  cloud,  rest- 
ing on  the  last  days  of  Derek  Philips.  He  was  not  a  per- 
fect man ;  who  is  ?  But  he  was,  not  even  barring  Menno 
Simons,  the  greatest  leader  of  the  early  Dutch  Anabap- 
tists. Complaining  of  the  treatment  he  received  at  the 
hands  of  the  Frisian  zealots  and  their  Hoorn  confed- 
erates, he  said :  ^* 

So  much  we  have  not  been  able  to  obtain,  that  they  would 
answer  for  themselves  before  their  accusers  and  those  who 
had  laid  charges  against  them.  So  much  of  fairness,  modesty, 
yea  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord  or  of  Christ's  spirit  and  brotherly 
love,  was  not  found  among  them. 

All  this  was  strictly  true.  But  what  could  Derek  Philips 
expect?  He  had  back  of  him  no  organization  which 
authorized  him  to  assume  arch-episcopal  powers.  The 
Waterlandians  and  those  of  the  opposition  party  were 
not  obHged  by  any  law  in  vogue  among  the  Anabaptists 
to  come  to  him.  He  could  "  ban  "  them,  and  so  he  did ; 
but  they  in  turn  could  "  ban  "  him,  and  so  they  did.  The 
schisms  among  the  Anabaptists  were  the  necessary  out- 
come of  the  very  thing  which  the  founders  had  inaugu- 
rated, the  absolute  liberty  and  independence  of  the  in- 
dividual church. 

5.  The  Martyrs 

While  all  these  things  were  happening,  while  the  radical 
Anabaptist  development  ran  its  swift  and  destructive 
course,  ending  in  the  annihilation  of  the  faction  comprised 

^Cprt  V?rhael,  B.  R.  N.,  X,  556, 


138  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

under  it;  and  while  all  the  disheartening  schisms  and 
separations  were  developing  among  the  conservative  wing 
of  the  Anabaptists,  death  was  ceaselessly  swinging  his 
scythe  among  them  in  the  form  of  countless  martyrdoms. 

Remember  they  were  hated  of  all  mankind ;  their  name 
had  been  given  by  Rome,  in  the  Netherlands,  to  all  here- 
tics without  distinction ;  and  among  them  the  bitter  spirit 
of  persecution  reaped  its  richest  harvest. 

Doctor  Fruin  must  have  had  Schyn's  work  before  him 
when  he  wrote  his  wonderful  book  on  the  war  of 
Liberty,®^  else  I  am  unable  to  understand  the  following 
quotation  :^^ 

Next  to  the  calm  Lutherans,  the  fanatical  Anabaptists  arose. 
In  them  the  multiform  heresies  of  the  Middle  Ages  revived 
and  the  antagonism  against  the  clergy  which  once  had  animated 
the  Hussites.  They  carried  back  their  genealogical  tree  to  the 
first  Middle  Ages.  [The  early  Anabaptists  never  did. — H,  E.  D.\ 
The  troubles  caused  by  Luther  did  not  originate  them,  but  only 
drew  them  into  the  open.  As  a  running  fire  they  spread  all 
over  the  Lowlands  and  soon  assimilated  the  most  zealous  of  the 
Protestants,  who  now  found  no  satisfaction  any  longer  for  their 
zeal  in  Lutheranism.  For  a  time  they  threatened  to  gain  the 
upper  hand,  but  they  were  not  capable  of  founding  a  lasting 
church.  Unanimous  in  their  destructive  spirit,  but  of  many 
varieties  of  doctrine  and  of  greatly  divergent  aims,  they  were 
only  capable  of  breaking  down,  etc. 

If  this  be  an  estimate  of  a  liberal  modern  historian,  what 
must  have  been  that  of  their  contemporaries? 

We  are  assured  by  a  number  of  creditable  witnesses 
that  even  in  the  opening  years  of  the  seventeenth  century 
Rome  held  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Lowlands. 
During  the  persecutions,  the  heretical  portion  of  the  popu- 
lation was  but  a  fraction  of  the  whole.  They  were  liter- 
ally like  sheep  amid  wolves.    Inasmuch  as  they  departed 

*5  Tien  Jaren.  *^  Tien  Jaren,  238. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  139 

furthest  from  Rome  in  their  simple  services,  the  Anabap- 
tists were  the  special  objects  of  persecution.  The  Miin- 
ster  tragedy  had  seriously  affected  the  progress  of  the 
Reformation  in  the  Lowlands.  Thus  in  Deventer,  where 
two  years  earlier  a  remarkable  reformatory  spirit  revealed 
itself,  in  1534  and  1535,  the  strongest  measures  were 
taken  against  Lutheranism.®'    Ypey  and  Dermout  tell  us : 

During  this  whole  period,  in  most  of  the  Lowlands,  the  spirit 
of  the  abyss  so  shockingly  revealed  itself,  that  it  must  raise 
the  hair  on  one's  head.  Everywhere  places  of  execution,  where 
people  were  incessantly  decapitated,  strangled,  and  burned. 
Everywhere  pits  were  pointed  out,  which  were  desecrated  by 
the  inhuman  homicidal  mania  of  the  heresy  hunters,  who  gnashed 
their  teeth.  .  .  In  1539,  at  Delft  alone,  thirty-nine  Mennonites 
were  executed;  in  1543,  at  Louvain  alone,  between  twenty  and 
thirty,  also  Mennonites. 

The  relative  number  of  their  martyrdoms  to  that  of  the 
Reformed  stands  ten  to  one.®*  In  Vriesland  it  was  for- 
bidden, on  a  fine  of  one  hundred  guilders,  to  rent  house 
or  land  to  Anabaptists.  No  one  was  permitted  to  inter- 
cede for  them  in  any  way,  when  they  were  condemned  to 
die,  by  fire  or  sword.  All  who  betrayed  them  received 
one-third  of  their  possessions.  Whatever  belonged  to  an 
Anabaptist,  even  if  given  in  sacred  trust,  was  to  be  de- 
livered at  once  to  the  authorities.  All  Anabaptists,  even 
though  they  repented,  were  to  be  executed.  All  unbap- 
tized  children  were  at  once  to  be  baptized,  and  the  names 
of  their  parents  were  to  be  given  to  the  bishop  of  Leeu- 
warden  and  also  to  the  clergy  of  the  other  provinces.®^ 

As  a  sample  of  the  cruelty  of  the  imprisonment  of  the 
period,  I  relate  the  following.     Mattheus  Biernaert  was 

«Y.  and  D.,  Gesch.  d.  N.  H.  K.,  I,   132. 

«8Brons,   T.   oder  M.,   88. 
*■  Idem,  94, 


140  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

imprisoned  at  Ghent  for  several  months,  in  a  cell  so  dark 
that  he  saw  neither  sun  nor  daylight.  All  the  light  the 
prisoner  had  was  an  occasional  piece  of  candle  obtained 
from  those  on  the  floor  above.  He  was  confined  in  a 
cellarlike  dungeon,  so  small  that  he  could  only  lie  in  a 
curled-up  position,  and  if  he  wanted  to  stretch  his  legs, 
he  had  to  sit  up  against  the  wall.  The  hole  was  so  full  of 
rodents  that  he  had  to  keep  his  food  in  his  hand  when  he 
said  his  prayers ;  for  when  he  put  it  down  it  was  gone  at 
once.  Says  the  chronicler,'^  ''  After  such  cruel  imprison- 
ment, besides  enduring  all  kinds  of  admonitions  and  tor- 
tures, he  was  condemned  to  death  and  thus  confirmed  his 
testament  with  his  blood." 

The  persecution  had  begun  in  dead  earnest  in  1535,  but 
it  increased  in  intensity  between  1540  and  1546,  on  ac- 
count of  the  rebellion  of  Ghent  against  Charles  V.  But 
from  that  date  it  began  again  to  lessen  its  fury.  Five 
years  later,  however,  the  placards  of  1550  fanned  the 
flames  into  a  fresh  blaze,  and  thousands  of  Protestants, 
mostly  Mennonites,  went  into  voluntary  exile,  largely 
to  Embden,  Wesel,  or  England. 

When  Philip  II  succeeded  his  father,  October  25,  1555, 
the  final  struggle  began,  which  led  in  1566  to  the  cele- 
brated "  request "  of  the  Dutch  nobles,  which  is  the  real 
beginning  of  the  Dutch  war  of  liberty.  In  the  same  year 
the  great  storm  of  iconoclasm  burst  over  the  Netherlands, 
starting  at  Houtschoten,  near  Ypres,  and  spreading  with 
inconceivable  rapidity  over  all  the  Lowlands.  Scarcely  a 
church  remained  untouched ;  everywhere  images  of  Mary 
and  of  the  saints  were  ruthlessly  destroyed. 

Margareth  wavered  before  the  blast,  but  King  Philip 
answered  it  by  changing  the  government  and  by  issuing 
a  blanket  condemnation  to  death  of  every  Dutchman,  a 

WB.  R.  N.,  VII,  159. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  141 

few  excepted  by  name,  and  by  the  introduction  of  the 
Spanish  Inquisition.  The  notorious  duke  of  Alva  was 
entrusted  with  the  execution  of  the  royal  decree  and 
arrived  in  the  Netherlands  in  1567.  Death  stalked  at  his 
heels. 

The  scene  that  now  opens  baffles  description.  I  have 
neither  time  nor  space  to  describe  that  most  heroic  of  all 
wars,  in  which  a  handful  of  brave  and  determined  men, 
led  by  William  I  of  Orange,  the  Dutch  Washington, 
fought  for  their  liberty  and  kept  up  the  unequal  struggle 
with  Spain,  the  Germany  of  the  sixteenth  century,  till 
the  war,  of  which  the  time  element  was  virtually  lost, 
ended  in  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia  in  1648,  after  it  had 
lasted  for  eighty  years,  or  since  1568. 

Doctor  Cramer  puts  the  number  of  Dutch  martyrs  at 
two  thousand,  of  whom,  he  says,  three-quarters  were 
Anabaptists.*^^  Where  he  gets  this  low  figure  I  do  not 
know,  but  the  number  certainly  was  enormously  larger. 

Alva  was  regent  from  1567  till  1573.  Say  Ypey  and 
Dermout :  ^^ 

It  is  said  that  he  then  [when  he  left]  gloried  in  the  fact  that, 
in  six  years'  time,  either  as  rebels  against  the  king  or  as  heretics, 
he  had  caused  to  be  killed  18,600  people.  This  was  almost  a 
fifth  part  of  all  who  then  for  the  space  of  fifty  years,  for  the 
same  reason,  had  been  killed  in  the  Lowlands  by  the  hand  of 
the  executioner. 

Wagenaar  is  more  circumstantial  and  even  mentions  the 
name  of  the  man  to  whom  Alva  had  boasted  of  his 
cruelty.  It  was  Louis  of  Koningstein,  an  uncle  (and 
enemy)  of  William  of  Orange,  on  his  mother's  side.  " 

The  whole  literature  of  the  period  is  a  mute  witness 
to  this  carnival  of  blood ;  and  of  this  bitter  cup  the  Ana- 

"  Intr.,  B.  R.   N. 

72  Gesch.  d.  N.  H.  K.,  I,  234.  "  Vad.  Hist.,  VI,  457- 


142  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

baptists  drank  to  the  very  dregs.  But  they  were  undis- 
mayed, their  enemies  even  being  witnesses  to  their  ex- 
emplary Uves.  They  had  long  since  gone  beyond  the 
doctrine  of  resistance  and  physical  force:  that  page  in 
their  history  was  sealed  forever.  And  their  blood  was 
then,  as  always,  the  seed  of  the  church. 

When  the  martyrs  at  the  stake  sang  their  swan-song,  as  they 
frequently  did,  hundreds  of  voices  in  the  dense  multitude  which 
witnessed  the  execution,  at  once  joined  in  the  song  of  the 
martyrs,  in  spite  of  their  enemies  around  them  and  of  the  en- 
raged magistrates  who  had  pronounced  the  sentence.'* 

And  from  this  period  we  have  that  wonderful  martyr 
story,  "  The  Sacrifice  of  the  Lord "  (Het  Offer  des 
Heeren),  reprinted  in  toto  in  the  second  volume  of  the 
Bibliotheca. 

It  was  originally  printed  in  a  small  compact  form,  pos- 
sible only,  as  Doctor  Cramer  tells  us,  by  the  wonderful 
paper  and  still  more  wonderful  printing  and  binding  of 
that  age.  How  popular  it  was  is  plain  from  the  fact  that 
between  1566  and  1599  we  have  at  least  eleven  separate 
editions  of  the  book.  As  a  matter  of  course  it  was 
placed  by  Rome  on  the  Index.*^^  To  be  found  in  posses- 
sion of  the  book  meant  a  speedy  trip  to  the  scaffold.  Read 
the  "  Sacrifice,"  and  it  places  you  in  a  new  world. 

These  are  not  the  Anabaptists  we  have  met  before. 
Gone  is  their  fanaticism;  gone  the  memory  of  Miinster; 
gone  the  heresies  of  some  of  their  leaders ;  gone  their 
endless  internecine  quarrels  and  schisms. 

The  book  is  a  revelation.  Here  we  see  a  faith  that 
overcomes  the  world.  The  book  was  written  "  for  the 
comfort   and   strengthening   of   the   slaughter-lambs   of 

'♦Y.  and  D.,  Gesch.  d.  N.  H,  K..  I,  173. 
«B.  R.  N.,  II,  6, 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  143 

Christ,"  both  for  the  martyrs  who  died  and  for  the  loved 
ones  who  were  to  mourn  them.  It  was  a  book  for  edi- 
fication :  to  be  read,  yes,  but  rather  to  be  pondered  and 
prayed  over. 

Rome,  its  fear,  its  obnoxious  doctrines  and  ritual,  all 
that  lies  far  behind,  that  is  the  "  world  "  which  perse- 
cutes them.  As  for  them,  they  are  translated  even  now, 
they  are  going  home,  into  a  new  and  ever  safe  life.^® 

Hysterical,  you  say,  narrow-minded;  well,  call  it  so. 
But  oh,  the  deep  conviction  of  the  truth,  the  deathless 
faith  of  these  men  and  women !  And  this  faith  scintillates 
in  all  these  pages,  none  excepted.  They  were  God's  chil- 
dren, were  these  Anabaptist  martyrs. 

We  have  a  clear  picture  of  their  spiritual  exaltation  in 
the  conclusion  of  the  "  Sacrifice  " :  ^^ 

Kind  reader,  here  you  have  many  examples  of  men  and  women 
who,  with  a  faithful  and  pure  heart,  have  feared  God  from  their 
innermost  soul.  Their  hearts  flourished  in  the  word  and  love 
of  God;  their  lips  overflowed  with  power,  spirit,  and  wisdom; 
their  life  and  death  were  Christ  Jesus.  They  did  not  seek  their 
kingdom  and  rest  in  this  world,  for  their  mind  was  heavenly  and 
spiritual,  as  is  evident  from  their  posthumous  writings.  Beloved 
reader,  mark  the  difference,  namely,  what  is  the  way  of  the 
Lord  and  what  the  way  of  the  devil;  and  which  is  the  upright 
service  of  God  and  the  service  of  the  devil  and  of  idols;  and 
who  are  the  children  of  God  and  the  children  of  the  devil;  and 
who  are  the  persecutors  and  the  persecuted? 

Thus  you  may  understand  what  kind  of  people  they  are,  from 
what  father  they  are  born,  what  spirit  has  moved  them,  who 
have  rejected,  plundered,  belied,  caught,  tortured,  broken, 
drowned,  strangled,  and  murdered  these  loving,  peaceful,  inno- 
cent, obedient  children  of  God  in  so  unmerciful  a  fashion. 
Some  they  have  strangled  on  stakes  and  hanged  on  gallows; 
some  they  have  executed  with  the  sword  and  given  as  food  to 
the  birds  of  the  air ;  some  they  have  cast  to  the  fishes.    And  this 

"B.  R.  N.,  II,  31. 

•^^B.  R.  N.,  II,  615,  616. 


144  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

tyranny,  as  would  appear  from  the  tenor  of  the  Scriptures,  will 
not  cease  till  the  rejected,  strangled,  and  crucified  Christ  Jesus, 
with  all  his  saints,  will  come  at  the  last  day,  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven,  as  an  all-mighty  potentate,  conqueror,  and  glorious  king, 
with  the  angels  of  his  power  and  flames  of  fire;  and  will  be 
glorified  in  his  saints  and  will  wonderfully  appear  in  all  believers, 
in  the  resurrection  and  in  the  revelation  of  heavenly  glory,  with 
which  they  shall  be  clothed,  by  the  power  of  Christ;  in  order 
that,  in  that  perfect  state,  they  may  possess  and  obtain  the 
eternal  and  imperishable  glory,  world  without  end.    Amen. 

That  was  the  prevalent  attitude  of  the  Anabaptist  martyrs. 
Divided  in' life  from  the  Reformed  martyrs,  they  were 
united  with  them  in  a  triumphant  death. 

6.  Condition  under  the  Nascent  Republic 

As  the  wave  of  persecution  receded,  the  Dutch  Republic 
was  born;  and  after  a  long  bitter  night,  the  slow  dawn 
came  for  the  followers  of  Menno,  purified  as  by  fire. 
Long  since  their  value  as  citizens  had  been  recognized  by 
the  new  government.  The  long  and  cruel  memory  of 
the  Miinster  tragedy  was  slowly  fading  out.  But  danger 
threatened  from  a  new  quarter. 

The  Reformed  Church  had  been  the  source  of  the  Re- 
public; it  had  not  been  created  by  it,  it  had  created  it. 
And  thus  was  born  an  age-long  struggle  for  the  mastery 
between  the  Giurch  and  the  State.  One  needs  only  to 
be  familiar  with  the  Arminian  controversy,  to  know  how 
strong  was  the  tension  between  the  leaders  in  the  Church 
and  the  leaders  in  the  State.  The  Roman  Catholics,  al- 
though they  still  held  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Lowlands,  in  the  early  years  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, were  merely  a  religio  licita.    Fruin  tells  us :  ^* 

In  a  conference  of  preachers  and  deputies  of  the  States,  the 
president  says  that,  in  Holland,  no  public  exercise  of  any  other 

"Fruin,  quoting  Bor.;  II,  976;  Tien  Jaren,  238. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  145 

religion  is  permitted  than  of  the  Reformed  only.  Which  may 
be  considered  a  great  benefit,  in  view  of  the  many  and  different 
opinions  which  exist,  so  that  there  is  not  a  tenth  part  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  country  which  belongs  to  the  Reformed  faith. 

The  ideas  of  the  time  demanded  a  State  Church,  and 
since  the  adherents  of  Calvinism  had  been  the  founders 
of  the  State,  naturally  the  Reformed  Church  came  to  be 
that  of  the  State.  "  The  firmness  of  their  convictions, 
their  unshaken  faith  in  the  divinity  of  their  cause,  their 
unconquerable  courage  and  persistency,  assured  to  their 
Church  the  front  rank  and  the  government."  "^^  Says 
Bakhuizen  Van  den  Brink,®^  himself  a  liberal  and  an  an- 
tagonist of  Calvinism,  "A  reformatory  struggle,  which 
came  so  late  after  the  origin  of  the  Reformation  as  took 
place  among  us,  could  be  nothing  but  Calvinistic  and  in 
favor  of  Calvinism."  But  the  fact  remained  that  in  1587, 
it  could  be  said,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  the 
Reformed  did  not  constitute  more  than  a  tenth  part  of 
the  population. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  Mennonites  at  that  time 
were  numerically  stronger  than  they.  But  the  former,  as 
we  have  seen,  were  hopelessly  disorganized,  everywhere 
broken  by  schisms,  without  a  central  government,  and 
without  the  necessary  principle  of  cohesion.  And  thus 
like  the  Jews  and  the  Catholics  they  were  barely  tolerated. 
Moreover,  toward  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
Reformed  Church  made  terrible  inroads  on  their  numbers, 
and  by  hundreds  they  joined  the  State  Church.  Fruin  is 
correct  when  he  denies  to  the  Anabaptists  constructive 
ability ;  "  of  many  doctrines  and  of  the  most  divergent 
aims,  they  were  able  to  break  down  only."  ®^ 

"  Idem,  238. 

*  Het  huwelyk  van   Willem  van  Oranje  met  Anna  van  Saxen,  123. 

*i  Fruin,  Tien  Jaren,  240. 

K 


146  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

In  the  first  meeting  of  the  States  General,  it  was  re- 
solved :  *^ 

That  there  shall  be  liberty  of  religion  and  that  every  man 
shall  exercise  the  same  in  public,  in  church  or  chapel,  as  it  shall 
please  the  government,  without  any  one  being  troubled  therein. 
And  further  that  the  clergy  shall  remain  in  their  condition,  with- 
out being  attacked. 

But,  in  the  end,  this  liberty  was  curtailed,  and  the  Re- 
formed Church  became  the  religion  of  the  State.  When, 
in  1575,  Prince  William  I  was  made  stadholder,  it  was 
demanded  of  him  that  he  "  uphold  the  Reformed  re- 
ligion." Fortunately  it  was  also  ordered  "  that  no  one 
shall  be  persecuted  on  account  of  his  faith."  ^^ 

Was  this  stipulation  kept  as  regards  the  Doopsgezinden 
or  Mennonites?  I  am  afraid  the  answer  must  be  nega- 
tive. These  men  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies were  too  near  to  Rome  as  yet,  had  too  much  of  the 
old  leaven  of  intolerance  in  their  veins  to  have  an  abso- 
lute conception  of  religious  liberty  in  the  true  sense. 

As  late  as  1577,  a  persecution  against  the  Anabaptists 
was  organized  at  Middelburg  in  Zeeland,  under  the  in- 
fluence it  is  said  of  the  Reformed  Church,  but  it  was 
nipped  in  the  bud  by  the  larger-hearted,  broader-minded 
leader.  Prince  William  I  of  Orange.  Wagenaar  tells  the 
story  in  detail  and  gives  us  the  full  text  of  the  letter, 
which  the  "  Father  of  his  Country  "  wrote  to  the  magis- 
trates of  Middelburg.  He  tells  them  that  the  rumor  of 
that  persecution  had  become  confirmed  by  the  testimony 
of  eye-witnesses.  The  Doopsgezinden  had  been  pro- 
hibited from  opening  their  shops  or  doing  their  work,  on 
the  ground  that  they  were  unwilling  to  take  the  oath  of 

^  Idem,  241. 

»=*Idem,  243;  Bor.  I,  643.  I 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  147 

citizenship.  Also  that  they  were  ill-treated  because  they 
were  unwilling  to  perform  the  usual  military  service. 
The  Anabaptists  were  willing  to  pay  in  money  what 
would  be  an  equivalent  for  the  service  performed,  but 
the  city  fathers  refused,  and  the  thing  became  quite  a 
scandal.  The  Prince's  letter  is  as  direct  as  he  could 
make  it,  and  he  lays  down  the  order  peremptorily  that  the 
persecution  must  cease.    Says  he :  ^^ 

Therefore  it  seems  to  us  that  you  do  very  wrong  in  not 
permitting  them  to  live  in  peace  and  quietude,  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  mind  and  conscience,  agreeable  to  the  letter, 
which  we  granted  them  on  a  former  occasion,  with  the  approval 
of  the  governor  and  council,  and  which  they  presented  to  you, 
as  they  declare.  As  we  perceive  that  you  have  been  hitherto 
unwilling  to  mind  it,  and  also  the  letter  going  before,  therefore 
we  are  now  compelled  for  the  last  time  to  draw  up  an  ordinance, 
in  which  we  publicly  declare  to  you  that  it  does  not  pertain  to 
you  to  oppress  the  conscience  of  any  one,  when  nothing  is  done 
which  would  tend  to  the  harm  of  another,  in  which  case  we 
would  not  respect  or  tolerate  any  man.  Therefore  we  command 
and  specially  enjoin  you  that  hereafter  you  cease  from  oppress- 
ing the  aforesaid  people,  namely  the  Doopsgezinden,  or  hinder 
them  from  pursuing  their  trades  or  business,  in  order  to  make  a 
living  for  wife  and  children;  but  that  you  permit  them  to  open 
their  shops  and  work  at  their  trades,  as  they  formerly  did,  till 
such  time  at  least  as  it  shall  be  otherwise  ordained,  by  the  States 
General,  to  whom  it  appertains.  See  to  it  therefore  that  you 
undertake  nothing  contrary  to  this  ordinance  which  we  have 
granted  them,  and  take  no  fines  from  them  for  the  above-men- 
tioned reasons  as  long  as  they  undertake  nothing  that  tends  to 
the  prejudice  of  any  man,  and  besides  bear  all  civil  and  lawful 
burdens   along  with   the   other    citizens. 

As  we  shall  see  later,  there  was  a  very  good  reason 
why  William  I  should  feel  kindly  toward  the  Anabaptists. 
But  all  the  good-will  of  the  supreme  government  not- 

»*Wagenaar,  Vad.  Hist.,  VII,  211. 


148  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

withstanding,  the  bitter  spirit  of  antagonism  against  them 
continued.  It  had  been  bred  in  the  bone  of  the  national 
consciousness  so  long  that  it  proved  a  hard  matter  to 
eradicate  the  evil. 

Especially  in  the  Northern  provinces,  where  the  Ana- 
baptists had  been  specially  numerous,  the  fire  broke  out 
again  and  again,  as  we  shall  see.  Thus  in  1601  there 
was  a  keen  revival  of  the  old  antagonistic  spirit  in  Gro- 
ningen,  where  several  edicts,  really  in  violation  of  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  land,  were  promulgated  against 
the  Anabaptists. 

1.  An  attempt  was  to  be  made  to  convert  them  forcibly 
to  the  State  Church. 

2.  Their  property  must  be  inventoried,  so  as  to  enable 
the  magistrates  to  levy  the  supertax  for  non-conformity. 

3.  No  person  was  to  harbor  Anabaptists  or  suffer  their 
meetings  on  his  premises. 

4.  All  unbaptized  children  were  excluded  from  being 
heirs  at  law  of  any  property, 

5.  All  Anabaptist  preachers  must  be  licensed  by  the 
civil  authority. 

6.  The  refusal  to  bear  arms  was  to  be  considered  as 
a  dangerous  political  heresy. 

7.  The  public  exercise  of  all  religions,  but  the  Re- 
formed, was  prohibited.^^ 

Fortunately  all  similar  laws  fell  of  their  own  weight. 
They  were  slightly  behind  the  times  in  the  new  Republic. 

Wagenaar  tells  us  that  Prince  William  I  had  a  soft 
spot  in  his  heart  for  the  Doopsgezinden,  because  as  early 
as  1572,  some  of  them  had  furnished  him  with  a  goodly 
sum  of  money  for  his  army.®* 

In  1578,  they  were  permitted  to  meet  in  pubic  at  Am- 

«» Benedict,  H.  o.  B.,   113. 

■•Brandt,   Ref.,  I,   525;   Wagenaar,   Vad.  Hist.,  212. 


THE  CONSERVATIVES  149 

sterdam;"  by  degrees  they  obtained  more  liberty  and, 
as  the  new  century  advanced,  they  grew  stronger  and 
better  organized  and  began  to  occupy  a  more  influential 
position  in  the  land  where  they  had  suffered  so  deeply 
and  so  long. 

«  Wagenaar,  Vad.  Hist.,  209. 


IV 

THE  THEOLOGY  OF  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

The  subject  before  us  is  intensely  interesting,  and  only 
now,  with  the  Bibliotheca  before  us,  it  is  possible  to  form 
a  somewhat  definite  conception  as  to  what  the  Dutch 
Anabaptists  really  believed  and  what  was  their  theological 
position  in  distinction  from  the  rest  of  the  Protestant 
world. 

All  this  was  possible  before,  as  a  matter  of  course,  for 
the  chosen  few  who  had  access  to  the  scattered  documents 
left  by  the  Anabaptist  leaders.  Now,  with  the  Bibliotheca 
before  us,  the  field  is  open  to  all;  we  now  have  an  op- 
portunity to  compare  the  casual  references  to  Anabaptist 
theology,  in  the  Inquisitorial  examinations-  of  the  mar- 
tyrs, with  what  Menno  Simons  teaches  in  his  Opera 
Omnia  and  with  the  theological  writings  of  Adam  Pastor 
and  Sebastian  Franck,  and  especially  with  the  clear  and 
unequivocal  statements  of  Derek  Philips  who,  more  than 
any  other  Anabaptist,  deserves  the  name  theologian. 

And  thus  we  can  obtain  a  comparatively  unobstructed 
view  of  what  they  believed  concerning  the  Scriptures, 
the  Trinity,  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  original  sin,  the  doc- 
trine of  grace  and  free  will,  the  sacraments,  especially 
baptism,  the  ban,  and  the  world  to  come. 

It  would  take  a  large  volume  to  work  out  all  these 
points  in  detail.  To  some  of  them  we  will  therefore 
only  devote  a  few  paragraphs,  while  others,  like  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Trinity,  of  Christ,  and  of  the  Sacraments, 
demand  a  more  extensive  treatment. 
150 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    151 

1.  Their  Theology  in  General 

At  the  start  let  me  say,  that  character  and  creed,  be- 
lief and  conduct,  doctrine  and  duty  cannot  be  separated. 
It  has  been  tried  by  the  moderns,  but  ends  in  a  lamentable 
failure. 

After  all,  a  man  is  what  he  believes.  Doctrine  and  life 
are  the  two  inseparable  hemispheres  of  one  and  the  same 
sphere.  Faith  and  conduct,  if  there  be  true  and  deep 
faith,  always  go  hand  in  hand.  There  never  was  a  duty 
which  ultimately  is  not  based  on  faith.  If  the  faith  be 
right,  the  duty  will  be  clear  and  definite ;  if  it  be  shadowy 
and  weak,  the  duty  will  be  cloudy  and  ill  defined. 

Now  the  Anabaptists  from  the  beginning  separated 
themselves  widely  from  the  tenets  of  the  old  Catholic 
Church,  and  from  the  common  Protestant  faith  as  well. 
They  accepted  the  "  formal  principle  "  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, i.  e.,  the  absolute  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
But  they  differed  widely  from  the  Reformers  in  their 
interpretation  of  the  great  truths  of  the  gospel;  and 
this  difference  is  equally  noticeable  between  the  left  and 
the  right  wings  of  the  Anabaptist  movement.  All  Ana- 
baptists lacked  authority  in  matters  of  faith. 

Even  among  the  Erasmian  group  of  authors,  who  were 
all  bitterly  hostile  to  the  Anabaptists,  at  least  most  of 
them,  we  find  this  lack  of  authority.  Veluanus  claims 
we  are  to  rely  on  the  Scriptures  and  on  them  alone.  "  All 
idolatry  must  be  utterly  destroyed;  the  whole  work  of 
the  mass,  with  its  altars,  images,  garments,  and,  all  its 
heathenish  ceremonies,  should  be  removed  from  the  eyes 
of  the  people." 

Well  and  good;  but  who  is  to  tell  us  what  the  Bible 
demands?  Are  we  not  compelled  to  fall  back  on  the 
clergy?    By  no  means.     Hear! 


152  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

The  understanding  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  should  alw^s 
remain  with  the  clergy,  but  this  does  not  always  happen.  Their 
right  understanding  sometimes  remains  longer  with  the  lowest 
members  than  with  the  highest  (clergy).  Sometimes  the  whole 
understanding  moves  from  the  clergy  to  the  laity.^ 

And  that  was  precisely  the  position  taken  by  the  Ana- 
baptists. Individualism,  from  the  beginning,  was  the 
bete  noire  of  their  existence.  Derek  Philips  wants  ^  every 
man  to  test  the  truth  of  what  he  has  spoken  or  written, 

with  the  touchstone  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  .  .  And  let  him 
keep  watch  over  the  teacher  whom  he  finds  and  knows  to  be 
false,  let  him  not  hear  him  but  depart  from  him.  .  .  After  the 
same  fashion  the  Holy  Scriptures  forbid  us  to  hear  false 
teachers;  and  this  is  the  idea,  that  we  shall  not  go  to  the  false 
teachers  in  the  house  of  idols,  when  they  stand  in  the  school  of 
pestilence  and  falsify  the  word  of  God,  neither  shall  we  listen 
to  their  words  nor  believe  them. 

This  was  strong  language  and  threw  the  burden  of  de- 
cision on  the  individual  conscience.  The  Anabaptists 
followed  the  advice  of  Derek  Philips;  they  learned  their 
lesson,  but  they  learned  it  too  well ;  for  they  applied  it  to 
their  own  men  as  well  as  to  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy. 
They  heard,  disapproved,  and  separated. 

One  and  all  they  believed  in  salvation  through  Qirist, 
but  they  glorified  the  Christian  life.  And  this  stress  laid 
on  Christian  living,  by  Philips  and  all  their  other  teach- 
ers, is  due  to  the  legalistic  character  of  their  theology. 
The  law  and  the  gospel  are  fundamentally  one,  through 
the  one  we  come  to  the  other.^ 


2.  The  Scriptures 


On  the  whole,  it  may  be  said  of  all  their  theological 
leaders,    without   exception,    that   they    spiritualize    the 


*  Leken  Wechwyser,  B.  R.  N.,  IV    329,  330. 
8B.  R.  N.,  X,  226,  247.  'Idem,  217. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    153 

Scriptures.*  They  believe  them  explicitly,  they  see  in 
them  God's  own  revelation;  but  the  Scriptures  are  to  be 
subjectively  appreciated.  They  have  an  inner  meaning, 
which  may  or  may  not  be  the  same  to  different  individ- 
uals. And  yet,  widely  as  these  teachers  diverged  from 
Rome,  they  apparently  continued  to  receive  its  doctrine 
of  the  Canon.  For  all  through  these  writings,  especially 
in  Het  Offer  des  Heeren  ("  The  Sacrifice  of  the  Lord  "), 
we  find  the  Apocrypha  of  the  Old  Testament  freely  quoted 
in  substantiation  of  their  views. 

Thus  among  the  martyrs,  Gielis  Matthysz  quotes 
Judith,  Tobias,  Wisdom,  and  Ecclesiasticus.^  Adriaen 
Comelis  quotes  First  Esther,  thereby  recognizing  the 
canonicity  of  its  sequels.^  And  in  the  introduction  of 
this  Book  of  Martyrs,  we  find  the  Apocrypha  quoted 
equally  with  the  canonical  books.  Says  Doctor  Cramer,^ 
"  As  is  seen,  the  examples  here,  as  also  the  quotations 
in  the  entire  work,  are  taken  indiscriminatingly  from  the 
Apocrypha  and  from  the  canonical  books  of  the  Bible." 

The  only  exception  among  these  martyrs  is  Jacques, 
who  decisively  rejects  their  authority  in  matters  of  faith.^ 
They  attached  apparently  little  weight  to  the  doctrine 
of  inspiration.  They  had  and  loved  the  Scriptures,  that 
was  abundantly  enough  for  them,  and  they  were  little 
concerned  about  their  remote  origin  or  their  ultimate 
source  or  authors.  If  they  rejected  the  Apocrypha,  as 
did  Jacques,  they  did  so  solely  on  the  ground  that  Qirist 
and  the  apostles  never  quoted  them  for  the  substantiation 
of  doctrine.  Pastor,  the  rationalist  among  them,  evi- 
dently did  not  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  inspiration  at 

*  Idem,  55,  67,   182,   187,   189,  207,  273. 
6B.  R.  N.,  II,  448. 
'  Idem,  213. 
'  Idem,   S3,   54. 
«B.  R.  N.,  II,  302. 


154  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

all.  He  never  calls  the  Bible  "  the  word  of  God,"  but 
always  refers  to  it  as  "  the  teaching  of  Christ,"  "  the  teach- 
ing of  Paul,"  or  "  Jesus  says."  ^  i 

3.  The  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity  , 

The  Anabaptists  counted  no  great,  outstanding  theo- 
logians among  their  leaders.  Even  Adam  Pastor,  Menno 
Simons,  and  Derek  Philips  fade  into  insignificance,  when 
we  compare  them  with  the  mighty  theological  thinkers 
which  the  Reformation  produced.  They  were  not  schol- 
arly men  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word;  they  never  had 
been  trained  to  think  deeply  or  logically  or  philosoph- 
ically. Neither  Menno  nor  Derek  apparently  had  a  uni- 
versity training,  and  the  latter,  as  we  have  seen,  looked 
askance  at  its  product.  They  had  studied  the  Scriptures 
extensively  and  in  a  sense  intensively,  but  either  clung 
tenaciously  to  their  literal  meaning  or  else  lost  them- 
selves in  the  mazes  of  bewildering  spiritualization.  Small 
wonder  therefore  that  they  should  have  little  enthusiasm 
for  a  doctrine  whose  name  was  not  even  mentioned  in  the 
Bible.  And  when  we  touch  the  details  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity,  in  our  researches  among  these  ancient  Ana- 
baptist theological  productions,  it  is  evident  that  not  only 
the  early  Anabaptist  leaders,  but  their  successors  as  well, 
strongly  objected  to  the  terms  "  consubstantiality  "  and 
''  person."  If  we  read  the  hymns,  printed  behind  the 
text  of  the  "  Sacrifice,"  the  martyrs  seem  to  be  wholly 
orthodox  and  to  use  the  word  "  Trinity "  freely.  But 
Dr.  S.  Cramer,  after  citing  several  examples,  where  refer- 
ence is  made  to  this  doctrine,  shrewdly  observes :  '^^ 

But,  as  I  surmise,  it  has  there  become  a  term  for  God's  im- 
penetrability, a  term  which,  as  these  four  writers  thought, 
corresponded  with  the   Scriptural   idea  and   which  appealed  to 

»B.  R.  N.,  V,  365.  "B.  R.  N.,  II,  36. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS     155 

them  as  the  stereotyped  expression  of  God's  being.  When,  e.  g., 
one  of  them,  Joris  Simons,  advises  his  son  to  "  knock  at  the 
door  of  his  holy  Trinity,"  it  is  evident  that  he  might  just  as 
well  have  written  "of  his  holy  majesty,"  or  something  similar. 

According  to  Pastor,  the  Holy  Spirit  has  no  indepen- 
dent personal  existence.  He  is  merely  the  "  inspiration," 
"  the  inward  moving  of  the  heart  to  things  that  are 
good."  Man's  soul  and  body  may  be  separated  in  death, 
because  he  is  man;  but  God's  Spirit  cannot  thus  separate 
itself  from  God.  We  may  not  therefore  suppose  that 
God's  Spirit  can  be  conceived  apart  from  himself  and 
thus  would  form  a  separate,  self-existent,  personal  be- 
ing.^^  He  therefore  clearly  rejects  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity. 

But  let  us  hear  him  somewhat  more  fully :  ^^ 

I  believe  that  the  Father  is  a  self-existing  being.  But  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  no  independent  or  personal  being;  but  he  has  an 
existence  in  the  same  way  as  a  breath,  a  blowing,  or  the  wind 
is  an  existence.  And  I  esteem  God's  breath  or  blowing  so  high, 
that  we  may  baptize  in  its  name.  .  .  All  persons  have  proper 
names  (propria  nomina).  Thus  the  Father's  proper  name  is 
Jehovah,  and  the  Son's  proper  name  is  Jesus.  But  the  Holy 
Ghost  has  no  proper  or  own  name,  because  it  is  no  •  person. 
Were  it  a  person  it  would  have  a  proper  name.  Holy  Ghost  is 
a  name  of  its  existence,  for  it  can  be  named  a  Holy  Spirit  or 
breath,  blowing,  or  wind  of  God,  therefore  a  breathing  (an- 
weyinge,  aanwaaiing)  of  God,  but  that  is  no  proper  or  personal 
name.  ^ 

He  pursues  the  same  argument  in  speaking  of  the  in- 
carnation :  ^* 

Were  Christ  a  physical  product  of  the  generative  force  of  the 
Holy  Spirit}  then  we  would  call  him  the  son  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  B.  R.  N.,  V,  s62. 

12  Disp.,  B.  R.  N.,  V,  573-  "  B.  R.  N..  V,  581. 


156  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

[Then  he  goes  on:]  Thus  Christ  is  conceived  of  no  one  but 
the  Father  himself.  Thus  he  is  truly  called  his  son,  for  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  none  other  but  himself. 

Menno  Simons'  views  are  expressed  in  these  words :  ** 

God  is  a  spirit,  whom  the  heaven  of  all  heavens  cannot  contain, 
and  besides  this  one,  living,  almighty,  all-governing  Lord  and 
God,  we  know  no  other.  He  is  the  inexpHcable  Father,  one 
with  his  inexplicable  Son  and  inexplicable  Spirit,  in  will,  power, 
and  works,  and  they  can  be  separated  from  each  other  as  little 
as  power,  light,  and  heat.  The  one  is  not  without  the  other,  as 
light  and  heat  out  of  the  sun.  The  one  must  be  conjoined 
with  the  other,  or  the  entire  Deity  is  denied;  for  all  that  the 
Father  does,  he  does  through  the  Son,  as  the  personified  wis- 
dom, power,  light,  truth,  and  life,  proceeding  from  him  and 
entering  into  the  visible  world  or,  as  the  Scriptures  say — "  his 
Word."  The  Holy  Spirit  proceeds  from  the  Father  through  the 
Son,  and  is  inseparable  from  the  divine  substance  .  .  .  whoso 
wants  to  go  further  into  this  unfathomable  profundity,  will  either 
ascend  too  high,  or  he  will  not  move  from  his  place,  or  he 
will  wander  into  bypaths;  the  right  foundation  will  be  lacking 
and  he  will  act  no  more  wisely  than  if  one  would  try  to  pour 
the  Rhine  or  the  Meuse  into  a  pail  and  endeavor  to  contain 
them  therein. 

As  we  turn  to  Derek  Philips  we  find  the  following. 
In  1557,  he  wrote  his  "  Confession  of  Our  Faith,"  ^^  in 
which  he  says,  on  the  subject  of  the  Trinity: 

This  only  God  and  Lord  is  and  remains  one  only  God  and 
Lord,  from  eternity  to  eternity,  and  has,  according  to  his  char- 
acter, attributes,  and  works,  many  names  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, whereby  he  is  named.  But  in  the  New  Testament,  he  is 
truly  named  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  is  called  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  with  which  three  names  the  whole  essence  (in  as 
far  as  it  is  possibly  intelligible  by  man)  is  pronounced  by  the 
Lord  himself- 

"  Brons,  quoting  Opera  Omnia,  T.  oder  M.,  1 57. 
^^  B jkentenisse  onses  Gheloofs,  B.  R.  N.,  X,  60-64. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    157 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  confess  to  be  the  first  born,  only 
born,  and  own  Son  of  the  Almighty  Father  and  living  God,  and 
we  believe  that  there  are  in  the  same  only  (Son)  Jesus  Christ, 
two  natures,  a  divine  and  a  human  nature.  .  .  The  Holy  Spirit 
we  confess  to  be  the  eternal  and  only  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  a 
Spirit  both  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son,  a  Spirit  of  truth 
and  of  all  heavenly  wisdom,  the  distributor  of  faith  and  of  all 
spiritual  gifts,  a  comforter  of  the  consciences,  by  whom  all 
Christians  adore  God  and  call  him  "  Abba  Father,"  by  whom 
they  justly  call  Jesus  Christ  "Lord,"  by  whom  they  believe 
and,  on  their  faith,  are  baptized  into  one  body,  by  whom  they 
are  sealed  and  are  to  be  sealed  in  the  day  of  redemption; 
through  whom  Jesus  Christ  still  rules  his  Church;  by  whom 
teachers  are  sent  out  to  preach  the  gospel,  by  whom  bishops 
and  pastors  are  appointed  to  care  for  the  Church  of  God.  For  he 
is  the  Paraclete,  of  whom  Christ  has  spoken  to  his  apostles. 

Derek  Philips  evidently  comes  very  close  to  the  Catholic 
confession  of  the  Trinity.  Remember  these  lines  were 
written  in  the  bitter  days  of  his  contest  with  Pastor.  But 
notice  the  significant  absence  of  all  reference  to  the  term 
"  Trinity  "  when  he  discusses  the  doctrine  and  of  every 
reference  to  the  very  point  in  debate,  the  "  consubstan- 
tiality  "  of  the  three  persons  in  the  Godhead,  and  of  the 
word  "  person  "  itself.  There  is  no  question  whatever 
but  from  the  very  beginning  the  Anabaptists  had  very 
cloudy  ideas  concerning  the  Trinity.  The  view  of  Menno 
looks  strangely  like  Modalism.  And,  in  this  connection, 
it  is  very  significant  that  Socinianism  flourished  largely 
in  states,  like  Poland,  where  the  Anabaptists  had  settled 
down  in  force;  and  also  that  this  same  Socinianism, 
once  it  was  fully  established  and  defined,  had  a  disastrous 
effect  on  the  later  development  of  the  Dutch  Anabap- 
tists.   We  shall  find  indubitable  proof  of  that  later  on. 

Schyn,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  in  outlining  the  doc- 
trinal position  of  the  Doopsgesinden,  says :  ^^  "  As  to  the 

«  Schyn,  Uitv.  Verh.,  386. 


158  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Trinity  the  difference  lay  in  the  words  '  Consubstantiahty  ' 
and  *  person.'  As  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  is  the  power, 
wisdom,  breath  of  God,  but  his  personality  is  left  in 
doubt." 

4.  The  Doctrine  of  Christ 

If  the  Anabaptists  deviated  considerably  from  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity  as  expressed  in  the  creeds  of  Protes- 
tantism, we  shall  find  a  still  greater  difference  in  their 
Christological  views. 

How  wide-spread  was  the  discussion  among  Dutch 
Protestants,  regarding  the  Christological  heresies  of  the 
Anabaptists,  may  appear  from  the  fact  that  not  only 
did  Guido  de  Bres,  the  author  of  the  Dutch  Confession 
of  Faith,  write  a  volume  against  them,  but  that  even  in 
the  story  of  the  martyrdom  of  Hoste  van  de  Katelyne, 
published  by  Martin  Micron,  in  1555,  we  find  a  lengthy 
discussion  of  the  subject,  in  which  all  the  Anabaptist 
theories  are  carefully  dissected  and  tested  by  the  Scrip- 
tures.^'^ 

We  meet  with  the  same  phenomenon  in  the  story  of 
the  martyrdom  of  Fabritius,  the  celebrated  Antwerp  pas- 
tor. It  was  presumably  written  by  his  colleague,  Joris 
Wybo,  and  was  published  in  1565.  In  the  introduction 
we  find  a  sharp  attack  on  the  Anabaptist  Christology. 
The  warning  is  sounded  there  that  men  may  deceive 
themselves  and  that  their  suffering  may  go  for  naught,^* 
"  Whoever  is  out  of  Christ,  that  is,  believes  differently  of 
Christ  than  the  Scriptures  teach,  is  erring  from  the  right 
way  and  truth,  and  if  he  suffers,  it  is  not  for  Christ,  nor 
for  righteousness  sake."  This  warning  is  sounded  again 
and  again. 

"  B.  R.  N.,  VIII,  204  p. 
"  Idem,  286,  290. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    159 

Let  US  see  in  how  far  there  was  any  just  ground  for 
this  antagonism.  The  denial  of  the  common  Chris tolog- 
ical  doctrine  is  in  evidence  almost  from  the  beginning  of 
Anabaptist  history. 

As  early  as  1526  divine  honors  were  denied  to  Qirist 
by  Lewis  Hitzer,  a  name  famous  among  the  vagrant  Ana- 
baptists.   Hitzer  was  beheaded  in  1529  at  Constance. 

Veluanus,  speaking  of  the  ancient  Christological  here- 
sies, says,  in  his  "  Laymens  Guide,"  ^^  "  Thus  also  now 
several  Anabaptists  hold,  especially  the  followers  of  Adam 
Pastor."  Dr.  S.  Cramer  discusses  the  whole  subject  of 
their  Christology,  as  it  reveals  itself  even  in  their  mar- 
tyrology,  and  he  comes  to  the  following  conclusion :  ^^ 

Doctrinal  formulas  are  practically  absent  in  all  these  confes- 
sions of  faith  of  the  martyrs.  .  .  A  being,  which  was  God  and 
man  at  once,  appeared  inexplicable  to  them.  They  found  it  far 
more  intelligible  that  the  preexisting  Christ,  at  the  conceptyDn, 
was  changed  into  a  man. 

Look  at  some  of  these  martyr  testimonies.  They  indicate 
either  that  the  rank  and  file  of  the  early  Anabaptists  were 
singularly  well  indoctrinated  by  their  leaders,  or  else  that 
these  views  from  the  very  beginning  had  been  held  by  the 
sect  and  had  become  a  sort  of  inheritance.  So  much 
is  sure,  Hitzer  taught  them,  John  of  Leyden  confessed 
them;  they  must  therefore  have  been  a  Hoffmanite  doc- 
trine, and  the  martyrs  express  the  same  views  before  the 
Inquisition. 

Jacques  confesses  before  the  inquisitorial  court :  ^^  "I 
believe  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  in  every  way,  in  flesh 
and  spirit,  but  where  he  got  his  flesh,  that  I  leave  to  the 
mystery  of  God.  The  apostles  did  not  dispute  about 
that."    Jooskint,  executed  in  1553,  asked  whether  he  did 

"B.  R.  N.,  IV,  335.  *'B.  R.  N.,  II,  36.  «B.  R.  N.,  II,  301. 


160  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

not  believe  that  Christ  received  his  flesh  from  Mary,  an- 
swered, "  No."  "  Then  it  seemed,"  says  the  chronicler, 
"as  if  master  Cornelis  [the  interrogator]  would  have 
fainted."  22 

We  find  the  same  views  among  the  English  refugee 
Anabaptists.  Thus  Joan  Boucher  was  condemned  in 
the  Edwardian  reign  for  believing  -^  "  that  Christ  was 
not  truly  incarnate  of  the  Virgin,  whose  flesh  being  sin- 
ful, he  could  not  partake  of  it,  but  the  Word  by  the 
consent  of  the  inner  man  in  the  Virgin,  took  flesh  of  her." 

Neal  calls  this  "  a  scholastic  distinction  incapable  of 
doing  much  mischief."  But  those  who  are  familiar  with 
the  Anabaptist  teachings  on  the  subject,  at  once  catch 
the  drift  of  Joan's  remark. 

Confining  ourselves  to  the  Dutch  Anabaptists,  we  will 
compare  the  views  of  Hoffman,  Pastor,  Menno,  and 
Derek  Philips,  their  most  eminent  early  theological 
thinkers. 

Let  us  begin  with  Melchior  Hoffman,  the  founder  of 
the  Dutch  Anabaptists,  if  at  least  the  ordination  of  preach- 
ers and  the  sending  out  of  teachers  make  him  such.  In 
the  "  Exposition  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,"  he  tells 
us  that  the  eternal  Word,  in  the  incarnation,  has  not  taken 
his  flesh  and  blood  from  the  Virgin  Mary ;  but  has  become 
flesh  and  blood  in  Mary's  womb,  that  is,  he  has  been 
changed  into  it,  as  the  drop  of  dew  falling  into  an  oyster- 
shell  is  changed  into  a  pearl.  He  claims  that  such  is  the 
teaching  of  the  Scriptures  in  regard  to  the  incarnation. 
In  his  "  Ordinance  of  God,"  in  which  he  develops  this 
doctrine,  we  are  told,^* 

that  God,  the  merciful  Father,  has  sent  his  own  eternal  word  of 
power  into  this  world,  in  the  flesh,  which  has  beconxe  flesh  and 

2»B.  R.  N.,  II,  36,  223. 

»  Neal,  "  Purit.,"  II,  356.  «  B.  R.  N.,  V,  161. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    161 

a  body,  in  form  like  any  other  man,  without  sin,  and  that  he 
has  been  a  bodily,  visible  word  of  God,  before  his  death  and 
remains  such  even  after  his  resurrection  and  to  all  eternity. 
He  has  not  taken  flesh  unto  himself,  but  has  become  flesh  and 
a  body,  that  by  himself  he  might  bring  salvation  and  pay  for 
the  sin  of  all  the  world,  with  his  innocent  suffering  of  death 
and  the  pouring  out  of  his  blood. 

Note  the  distinction  between  his  "taking"  on  himself 
a  body  from  the  Virgin  and  his  "  becoming  "  flesh. 

And  again  in  the  Strassburg  disputation,  in  1533,  he 
defended  himself  against  the  accusation  of  heresy,  by 
claiming :  ^^ 

1.  That  John  said,  "The  word  became  flesh." 

2.  If  Christ  had  taken  our  flesh  from  Mary,  it  must  be  the 
accursed  flesh  of  Adam,  and  then  he  could  not  have  been  our 
Redeemer. 

3.  That  Paul  had  said,  "The  first  man  was  of  the  earth 
earthy,  the  other  Adam  is  the  Lord  from  heaven."  And  he 
elucidated  by  contending  against  the  idea  that  our  Lord  is  the 
veritable  fruit  of  Mary's  womb,  that  we  also  are  brothers  and 
sisters  and  mothers  of  the  Lord,  and  that  we  are  called  such 
by  the  Lord  himself,  if  we  do  the  will  of  his  Father  in  heaven. 

The  dead  literalism  of  the  whole  contention  never  seems 
to  have  struck  Hoffman.  Of  the  rare  book  from  which  I 
quote,  only  two  copies  were  known  to  exist  when  the 
Bibliotheca  was  printed:  one  in  the  Mennonite  Library 
in  Amsterdam,  the  other  in  that  of  Louvain,  now  per- 
haps lost  in  the  German  sack  of  the  city.  Hoffman  went 
even  so  far  as  to  say,  "  Accursed  be  the  flesh  of  Mary."  ^^ 
One  can  easily  see  how  extravagant  statements,  like  the 
above,  in  a  day  in  which  Mary  was  raised  above  the 
stars  of  heaven,  would  open  wide  the  doors  of  the  most 
relentless  persecution. 

»B.  R.  N.,  V,  132,  228.  »»B.  R.  N.,  VII,  83. 

L 


162  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Alenson  claims,  in  his  Tegenbericht,  that  these  peculiar 
views  of  the  incarnation  were  unknown  to  the  martyrs 
before  Menno;  as  if  Menno  and  what  he  calls  the  Miin- 
ster  party  had  created  this  new  type  of  theology .^^  Dr. 
S.  Cramer  justly  sets  this  contention  aside,  by  showing 
that  not  the  Waterlandian  collators  of  the  martyr-book, 
of  1615 ;  but  they  themselves,  the  Frisian  editors  of  1626, 
had  done  their  best  to  create  an  unjust  impression  in 
regard  to  the  faith  of  the  oldest  fathers.^^  For  so  much 
seems  sure,  that  the  peculiar  views  anent  Christ's  incar- 
nation antedated  Menno  and  perhaps  Hoffman  as  well. 
It  is  scarcely  conceivable  that  Hoffman  should  have  been 
the  originator  of  this  radical  departure  from  the  Christo- 
logical  views  of  the  ages.  The  views  of  the  Strassburg 
leader  seem  too  well  defined,  too  finished  a  product,  to 
have  started  with  him.  He  must  have  received  them 
from  an  older  source. 

In  the  Strassburg  Disputation,  quoted  above,  he  had 
gone  even  more  explicitly  into  this  matter  by  saying^* 
that 

Christ  had  not  taken  his  flesh  and  blood  from  Mary.  But  only 
as  dough  is  changed  into  bread  in  an  oven,  or  as  a  statue  stands 
in  the  shop  of  a  sculptor  and  is  there  finished,  so  the  Word  has 
been  made  flesh  and  blood  in  Mary.  So  that  Mary's  flesh  and 
blood  have  done  nothing  in  this  birth. 

The  Strassburg  theologians  logically  concluded  that  he 
denied  the  two  natures  in  Christ.  They  saw  in  his  teach- 
ings a  subtle  reappearance  of  the  ancient  doctrine  of  the 
Docetics. 

Dr.  S.  Cramer,  as  a  true  representative  of  the  Brother- 
hood, in  our  day,  reveals  his  own  position  very  clearly, 
when  he  tells  us :  ^® 

«B.  R.  N.,  VII,  179.         ^B.  R.  N.,  V,  244. 
»B.  R.  N.,  VII,  146.  ^B.  R.  N.,  V,  132,  i33. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS     163 

It  seems  peculiar,  even  bizarre,  thus  to  confound,  even  unto 
identity,  the  realm  of  the  cosmic-physical  with  the  spiritual;  the 
life  of  the  inner  man,  material  or  physical,  with  invisible  things. 
But  not  only  the  men  of  the  Middle  Ages,  but  also  the  Protes- 
tants of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  evidently  did 
not  ieel  the  heterogeneousness  of  these  realms. 

Adam  Pastor  went  far  beyond  Hoffman.  Originally 
he  had  occupied  the  Hoffmanite  standpoint,  which  in  the 
main  was  that  of  Menno ;  but  later  he  went  off  on  a  sharp 
tangent  and  began  to  consider  these  views  erroneous.^^ 
Small  wonder  that  Sandius  and  other  Socinian  leaders 
later  on  mention  ^^  Pastor  "  as  the  man,  in  our  father- 
land, or  a  neighboring  territory,  who  had  been  the  first 
and  an  able  writer  in  that  direction."  Pastor  treats  the 
whole  idea  of  Christ's  preexistence  with  bitter  sarcasm, 
as  well  as  his  incarnation,  as  it  was  held  by  the  Church, 
and  even  the  peculiar  views  of  the  Mennonites.  The 
"  Word "  of  John  1  :  1  was  not  a  person,  but  God's 
creative  word  or  will.  The  conception  took  place  by  an 
act  of  God's  volition.  Christ  was  certainly  carnally  re- 
lated to  Mary.  He  was  a  natural  but  a  sinless  man,  not 
needing  regeneration,  because  his  generation  left  him 
pure  and  holy.  Says  he,  "  Had  there  been  nothing  of 
Adam  in  Christ,  Adam  had  not  died  in  the  death  of 
Christ,  and  that  was  the  word,  which  God  spoke,  that 
Adam  must  die."  So  much  for  his  humanity;  but  when 
it  comes  to  the  divinity  of  Christ  he  has  this  to  say : 
"  But  since  there  was  in  Christ  more  than  Adam's  flesh, 
n.  1.  God's  word,  God's  will,  God's  spirit,  God's  nature, 
and  an  innocent  conversation,  he  has  been  the  innocent 
Lamb  which  had  not  earned  by  his  own  guilt  so  miserable 
a  death."  "  God's  nature,"  as  Doctor  Cramer  well  ob- 
serves, is  not  to  be  taken  here  in  the  sense  of  essence,  but 

w  B.  R.  N„  V,  379.  ^  B.  R.  N.,  V,  326. 


164  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

must  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  character.  And  that  this 
is  really  the  meaning  of  Pastor  is  evident  from  what 
he  further  says^^  about  his  equaHty  with  God  (Phil.  2) : 

As  one  who  did  not  consider  it  great,  as  a  robbery,  in  such 
a  form  to  be  equal  with  God,  as  one  who  had  one  nature  With 
God,  the  same  will,  the  same  spirit,  the  same  mind  and  desires 
of  the  heart,  as  a  true  image,  after  the  outward  being  of  the 
invisible  God. 

Ponder  these  words,  and  tell  me  does  this  not  strangely 
look  like  the  theories  of  the  modern  German  Christo- 
logians,  and  their  Gottesbewustseinf  Did  Pastor  mean 
to  say  that  Christ  was  divine  in  the  sense  that  he  was 
conscious  of  being  at  one  with  God  in  all  these  things? 
Divinity  and  humanity  are  as  wide  apart  as  heaven  and 
earth.  Five  years  after  the  disputes  of  Embden  and 
Goch,  of  1547,  after  which  he  had  been  banned  by  his 
former  associates,  he  tells  us  he  still  held  the  same  views 
as  to  Christ's  divinity,  which  had  led  to  his  excommunica- 
tion by  the  Mennonites.  After  a  lengthy  exposition  of 
Christ's  words  concerning  himself,  in  stating  his  disbe- 
lief in  the  divinity  of  Christ,  in  the  accepted  sense  of 
the  creeds,  he  concludes  as  follows :  ^* 

Therefore  I  confess  that  the  divinity  of  Christ  is  the  Father's 
wisdom  in  him,  the  Father's  word  in  him,  the  Father's  will,  the 
Father's  spirit,  mind,  and  inclination  in  him,  the  Father's  power 
and  work  in  him,  the  Father's  nature  (character)  in  him,  and 
whatever  of  this  sort  there  is  more  in  him  of  the  one  God,  the 
Father. 

Christ  then  was  the  Son  of  God,  in  so  far  as  he  was  like 
God,  in  all  the  operations  of  heart  and  soul  and  mind, 
and  thus  felt  himself  to  be  the  Son  of  God. 

"B.  R.  N..  V,  38a,  383.  »*B.  R.  N.,  V,  519. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    165 

And  yet  everywhere  he  speaks  with  the  greatest  rever- 
ence. As  he  sees  it,  it  touches  the  honor  of  the  Father  if 
a  place  were  assigned  to  Christ  which,  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  is  not  his.^** 

When  we  read  after  Pastor  we  have  to  rub  our  eyes 
to  see  whether  we  are  awake  or  dreaming.  What  he  has 
to  say  is  so  startlingly  modern  that  it  bewilders  the  reader. 
And  we  wake  up  to  see  that  not  all  "  modernity  " — I  use 
the  word  in  the  Dutch  theological  sense — is  modern. 

From  the  radical  we  turn  to  the  conservative  branch 
of  the  Mennonites.  Let  us  ask  Menno  Simons  what  he 
believes  of  Christ. 

I  may  start  out  at  once  by  saying  that  Menno's  theo- 
logical views  throughout  are  somewhat  hazy.  He  is  not 
a  clear  thinker.  Both  he  and  Derek  Philips  wholly  con- 
demned and  rejected  the  crass  utterances  of  Pastor,  on 
account  of  which  they  excommunicated  him;  for  which 
act,  as  we  have  seen,  Menno  in  his  last  days  professed 
sorrow.  He  never  impugned  the  divinity  of  Christ;  we 
can  therefore  only  test  his  views  on  Christ's  humanity. 

The  "  Laymen's  Guide  "  quotes  him  as  saying  ^®  "  The 
Word  within  the  body  of  Mary  v^s  changed  into  flesh, 
without  taking  over  anything  from  the  nature  of  Mary." 
Gearly  the  Hoffmanite  doctrine  therefore,  which  per- 
meated Dutch  Anabaptism  in  all  its  ramifications. 

Mosheim  tells  us :  ^^ 

Menno  denied  that  Christ  received  from  the  Virgin  Mary  that 
human  body  which  he  assumed.  On  the  contrary,  he  supposed 
it  was  produced  out  of  nothing,  in  the  womb  of  the  immaculate 
Virgin,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Was  Mosheim  correct? 

»  Idem. 

3«B.  R.  N.,  IV,  139. 

"  Inst.  Eccl.  Hist.,  Ill,  244. 


166  TflE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

In  his  disputation  with  a  Lasco,  printed  in  1544,  Menno 
said :  ^® 

The  eternal  Word  changed  into  flesh,  as  water  turned  into 
wine.  Christ  did  not  remain  in  his  first,  eternal,  divine  sub- 
stance or  essence.  But  leaving  the  same,  was  changed  into 
another,  i.  e.,  a  human  substance  and  thus  became  man,  able  to 
suffer  and  to  die,  and  has  lost  his  first  essence. 

And  again  in  his  "Summary"  {Sommarie),  which  was 
printed  after  his  death,  in  1600,  he  confesses : 

That  the  Word  in  Mary  became  flesh  and  in  her  was  nour- 
ished, fed,  and  has  grown  in  her,  as  a  natural  child  is  nourished 
by  its  mother,  and  thus  is  called  a  fruit  of  Mary's  body,  in  the 
same  way  as  a  natural  offspring  is  called  and  acknowledged  as 
a  fruit  of  its  natural  mother. 

Again : 

A  man  and  the  son  of  man  Christ  became,  but  so  that  he  has 
neither  father  nor  mother  nor  relative  among  men.  Mary 
calls  Joseph  his  father  and  herself  his  mother.  But  he  has 
neither  father  nor  mother  nor  relationship  among  men,  so  that 
he  should  have  become  man  from  any  human  seed. 

At  times  he  speaks  very  disparagingly  of  the  flesh  of 
Mary.  I  think  Dr.  S.  Cramer  is  absolutely  correct  when 
he  says  ^*  that  the  doctrine  of  Hoffman  and  Menno,  which 
alleges  that  the  Word  only  passed  through  Mary,  with- 
out coming  at  all  in  touch  with  her  body,  is  simply 
the  revamping  of  the  ancient  doctrine  of  Valentine,  the 
Gnostic. 

Pastor  mercilessly  exposes  this  logic  or  lack  of  logic  of 
Menno,  when  he  draws  a  lurid  picture  of  the  Creator  be- 
coming a  creature,  in  the  way  Menno  depicts  it.*° 

38  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  468. 

«»B.  R.  N.,  V,  38P  (Note).  *°  B.  R.  N.,  V,  377- 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS     167 

In  1543,  Menno  wrote  *^  to  a  Lasco  that 

when  first  the  article  of  the  holy  incarnation  was  proposed  to 
him  by  the  brethren,  he  was  very  much  troubled  and  horrified 
in  his  heart.  Yea,  after  he  had  received  baptism,  he  has 
often  been  frightened,  troubled,  and  shaken  in  his  conscience, 
and  prayed  to  God  that  he  might  clearly  unlock  the  door  and 
unfold  to  him  the  mystery  of  the  conception  of  his  blessed  Son. 
And  then  he  went  on,  wandering  several  days,  weeks,  and  months. 

Did  he  ever  see  the  light,  was  the  door  of  mystery  ever 
unlocked?  Judging  from  the  conflicting  statements  on 
the  subject,  made  by  Menno,  we  may  answer  the  ques- 
tion in  the  negative.  For  later  on  he  wrote  again  against 
a  Lasco,  who  once  more  came  back  to  the  old  charge :  *^ 

That  I  should  ever  have  said  or  written  anywhere  that  the 
Word  was  changed  into  human  flesh  and  blood,  I  suppose  one 
never  will  prove  against  me.  Although  they  dare  say  of  us 
that  I  have  spoken  of  it,  as  the  high  apostle  has  taught  me 
"  that  the  word  became  flesh."  That  testimony  I  leave  un- 
touched, and  I  commit  the  mystery,  as  to  how  much  changed 
or  unchanged,  to  Him,  who  by  his  almighty  power,  has  so  ap- 
pointed it  to  the  salvation  of  us  all. 

But  all  his  denials  could  not  undo  the  fact  that,  at  the 
start,  he  had  taught  the  HoflFmanite  doctrine  of  the  in- 
carnation. As  an  old  man,  he  professed  his  sorrow  that 
he  tried  "  to  enter  into  mysteries,  which  were  too  deep 
for  him." 

His  early  position  was  abandoned  by  the  Mennonites 
{Doopsgezinden)  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  especially 
by  the  Waterlandians.  They  quote  with  approval  his  later 
words :  *^  "  I  believe  that  God's  eternal  Word,  in  accord- 
ance with  God's  decree  and  promise,  has  become  man 

"  Alenson's  Tegenh.,  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  i8o. 
«  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  200. 
"Schyn,  Uitv.  Verh.,  33. 


168  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

through  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  Virgin  Mary,  without 
connection  with  a  man." 

In  the  Strassburg  Compromise  of  August  24,  1555,  the 
Anabaptists  decided  ** 

that  hitherto  the  incarnation  has  been  driven  too  high  or  too  low, 
by  a  mutual  misunderstanding,  by  which  the  brotherly  love  has 
been  impaired.  [Then  they  confess]  that  the  Scriptures  teach, 
in  some  places  that  Christ  brought  his  flesh  from  heaven;  and 
elsewhere  on  the  other  hand  it  appears  as  if  he  took  it  from 
Mary.  .  .  Till  now  they  have  been  building  an  unnecessary  tower, 
and  God  has  confused  their  tongues,  so  that  no  man  understood 
the  other.  .  .  In  their  simplicity  they  now  want  to  abide  by  the 
Scriptures — the  Word  became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us. 

That  was  a  sane  decision,  but  it  did  not  remove  the  dif- 
ficulty, for  the  apparent  contradiction  in  the  Scriptures 
still  remained. 

Menno  certainly  had  not  shed  much  light  on  the  ques- 
tion of  the  incarnation. 

Let  us  turn  finally  to  Derek  Philips  and  see  what  he 
has  to  say  on  the  subject. 

The  peculiar  Anabaptist  views  on  the  incarnation  are 
nowhere  so  fully  and  definitely  expounded  as  they  are  in 
the  writings  of  Philips.  He  devotes  eighteen  quarto 
pages  in  his  Enchiridion  to  the  incarnation  and  twenty- 
three  pages  to  the  true  humanity  of  Christ.*^  Derek 
Philips  unequivocally  teaches  that  the  body  of  Christ 
was  a  heavenly  body  and  not  derived  from  the  Virgin 
Mary.  And  neither  he  nor  any  of  his  Anabaptist  friends 
seemed  to  sense  the  fact  that  this  belief  invalidates  the 
whole  doctrine  of  the  atonement.  He  argues  precisely 
to  the  contrary  and  believes  that  the  common  Christian 
view,  held  by  Catholic  and  Protestant  alike,  does  this 

**  Brons.,  T.  oder  M.,  97. 

«B.  R.  N.,  X,  135-153;  155-178. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    169 

very  thing.  The  Anabaptist  doctrine  of  the  humanity 
of  Christ  stood  closely  connected  with  those  of  the 
sacraments  and  of  salvation.  They  spiritualized  the  ele- 
ments of  the  Supper.  We  eat  and  drink  the  flesh  and 
blood  of  Christ,  because  the  Word  of  God  became  flesh, 
and  therefore  the  Word  of  God  and  the  flesh  of  Christ 
are  one.  Thus  only  the  true  spiritual  communion  of  the 
believer  with  Christ  can  be  established.^^  Listen  to 
Philips :  *^ 

God  could  not  help  fallen  and  ruined  man,  by  his  own  cor- 
rupted seed ;  but  by  His  own  eternal  Word,  the  Son.  Thus  the 
salvation  of  man  was  like  his  creation.  An  earthly  body  of 
Christ  would  have  been  unclean  and  contaminated;  but  because 
it  was  a  heavenly  body,  it  could  wipe  out  sin. 

The  comparison,  which  Philips  makes  between  Adam  and 
Christ,  speaks  for  itself :  *® 

Even  as  Christ,  in  Mary,  was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  so 
also  Adam  was  created  by  God  and  had  no  other  father  but 
God.  .  .  God's  own  only  begotten  Son,  yea  and  his  firstborn,  yea 
God  himself,  became  man  and  has  divested  himself  of  his  divine 
estate,  has  left  his  glory  and  has  adopted  the  form  of  a  man 
and  of  a  servant.  Summa,  he  who  was  God  became  man;  and 
he  who  became  man,  is  God  and  man;  and  he  who  is  God  and 
man,  dies  as  a  man;  and  he  who  dies  as  a  man,  is  raised  from 
the  dead  as  God, 

All  the  Scriptural  references  to  Christ  as  "  the  seed  of 
the  woman,"  "  the  seed  of  Abraham  and  of  David,"  have 
to  be  taken  figuratively ."^^ 

Christ  may  not  be  a  natural  seed  of  Abraham,  but  he  is  a 
natural  seed  of  the  spiritual  Abraham,  of  his  heavenly  Father, 
which  has  been  graciously  promised  by  God  to  the  patriarch 
Abraham, 

*«B.  R.  N.,  X,  141,  153.  **B.  R.  N.,  X,  140,  142. 

«B.  R.  N.,  X,  165.  «B.  R.  N.,  X.,  147. 


170  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Therefore  no  one,  who  is  wise  in  the  Scriptures,  will  be 
astonished  that  they  call  Christ  "  a  seed  of  the  woman  **  and 
"of  Abraham"  and  a  fruit  of  the  loins  of  David  and  of  the 
body  of  Mary.  For  since  these  Scriptures  call  Christ  sin,  who 
knew  no  sin,  because  he  became  a  sacrifice  for  our  sins,  what 
wonder  that  the  same  Scriptures  call  him  a  seed  of  the  woman 
and  of  Abraham,  a  fruit  of  the  loins  of  David  and  of  the  body 
of  Mary,  on  account  of  the  reasons  stated  above,  although  he 
is  truly  no  such  thing  nor  may  he  be  conceived  by  any  Christian 
as  such." 

Christ  then  is  a  man,  but  he  brought  his  humanity  from 
heaven.  He  was  born  of  Mary,  but  he  was  not  her  child. 
He  was  created  in  Mary,  as  Adam  was  created  from  the 
dust  of  the  earth.    Such  is  the  doctrine  of  Philips. 

The  Waterlandians,  among  the  Doopsgesinden,  utterly 
rejected  the  earlier  Anabaptist  doctrine,  that  Christ  had 
brought  his  body  from  heaven,  or  that  he  took  it  from 
the  air,  or  that  he  passed  through  Mary  as  water  passes 
through  a  gutter  or  as  light  passes  through  glass.  They 
embraced  the  common  Catholic  faith  of  the  incarnation.^^ 

The  Frisians,  on  the  other  hand,  had  accepted  this  doc- 
trine and  tried  to  create  the  impression  that  from  the 
beginning  it  had  been  the  doctrine  of  all  Anabaptists. 
Nor  does  it  appear  as  if  this  contention  was  far  in  error, 
if  we  consider  only  the  Dutch  Anabaptists.  If  the  term 
Anabaptist  be  taken  generically,  the  Frisians  were  wrong. 

It  was  Melchior  Hoffman,  who  in  1532,  started  the  in- 
novation. The  Miinster  party  adopted  the  new  view  in 
1534,  and  announced  it  in  their  "  Restitution  "  as  one  of 
the  articles  of  faith,  which  "  God  had  restored  by  them, 
without  any  human  wisdom  ...  so  that  those  who 
have  not  yet  attained  to  a  better  understanding,  can- 
not be  fundamentally  founded  on  a  living  faith  in  Christ." 

WB.  R.  N..  X,  147. 

8^  Schyn,  Uitv.  Verh.,  395. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    171 

And  among  their  restored  articles  of  faith  they  mention 
"  that  Christ  did  not  receive  his  flesh  and  blood  from 
the  Virgin  Mary."  Nicolai,  in  his  Inlasschingen,  makes 
it  the  second  point,  inferior  only  to  adult  baptism,  of  the 
six  characteristics  of  the  Anabaptists.^^  But  Menno's 
wavering  position  aroused  a  storm  of  protests  on  all  sides. 
He  who,  in  1544,  had  said  in  his  "  Small  Confession- 
book"  (Belydingsboecksken),  "Thus  Jesus  Christ  re- 
mains the  noble,  pure,  and  blessed  (ghebenedyde)  fruit 
of  the  body  of  Mary,"  was  accused  in  1556,  by  Martin 
Micron,^^  to  have  compared  the  flesh  of  Mary  to  a 
"  stinking  elderbush,"  a  prickly  thornbush,  from  which 
such  glorious  fruit  could  not  be  gathered.  This  was 
going  to  extremes,  and  we  would  certainly  reject  Micron's 
testimony,  were  it  not  for  the  extremely  violent  language 
sometimes  employed  by  the  meek  Menno  in  his  contro- 
versies. Alas,  there  are  other  witnesses  besides  Micron, 
who  was  known  as  an  extreme  hater  of  the  Anabaptists. 
The  accusation  against  Menno  on  this  score  is  repeated 
in  the  Successio  Anahaptistica,^^  and  Dr.  S.  Cramer 
verifies  these  words  as  being  the  identical  words  used  by 
Menno,  in  his  tract  "  A  Very  Plain  and  Modest  Answer  " 
{Een  gans  duitlyck  end  hescheyden  Antwoordt).  If  the 
rest  of  the  book  was  as  plain  and  modest  as  the  references 
to  Mary,  it  must  have  been  a  marvel. 

5.  Original  Sin 

Just  a  word  or  two  about  this  point  in  Anabaptist 
theology.  They  admitted  that  sin  entered  this  world 
through  Adam's  disobedience,  but  they  qualified  this  ad- 
mission by  saying  that  ^^ 

62  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  462. 

^  Waerachttgh.  Verhael. 

"  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  83. 

^  Schyn,  quoting  Rauf,   Uitv.  Verh.,  398. 


172  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

everything  which  reigns  or  has  been  introduced  into  this  world, 
unto  eternal  death,  by  the  sin  of  Adam,  has  been  removed  by 
Christ,  wherefore  also  the  children,  as  regards  their  liability  to 
eternal  damnation,  are  liberated  by  the  obedience  of  Christ. 
And  they  deny  absolutely  that  original  sin,  in  young  children, 
tends  to  eternal  death,  or  that  by  nature  they  are  still  children 
of  wrath  and  guilty  unto  eternal  death. 

This  is  Rauf  s  statement,  and  the  martyr-book  strangely 
confirms  it. 

Jacques  was  examined  before  the  inquisitors,  and  the 
following  dialogue  ensued :  ^® 

Q.  How  are  children  purified?  Is  not  that  done  by  baptism? 
A.  They  are  purified  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  since  he  is  the 
Lamb  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  Q.  How  is  it  th^n 
that  they  are  purified  from  original  sin?  A.  My  lord,  I  have 
told  you,  by  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  died  for  us, 
when  we  were  enemies  and  unbelievers.  Q.  Do  you  not  be- 
lieve then  that  children  bear  the  sin  of  Adam,  till  the  time  that 
they  are  purified  by  baptism?  A.  One  would  have  to  prove  that 
to  me  from  the  Scriptures.  I  believe  in  the  word  of  the  prophet, 
who  says:  "The  children  shall  not  bear  the  sins  of  the  fathers, 
but  the  soul  that  sinneth  shall  die." 

Claesken,  another  of  the  martyrs,  was  asked,  whether 
she  had  any  of  her  children  baptized.  Her  answer  was, 
No.  The  inquisitor  then  told  her  that,  on  account  of 
original  sin,  a  child  must  be  baptized  in  order  to  be  saved. 
She  answered,  "  If  a  man  can  be  saved  by  an  external 
sign,  Christ  has  died  in  vain."  The  inquisitor  replied, 
"  I  read,  we  must  be  born  again  of  water  and  spirit, 
therefore  the  children  should  be  baptized."  The  answer 
came  like  a  flash :  "  Christ  does  not  say  that  to  children, 
but  to  people  who  can  understand  it.  Therefore  I  have 
given  myself  to  regeneration.    We  know  that  the  children 

"B.  R.  N.,  II,  281. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS     173 

are  in  the  hands  of  God.  The  Lord  said,  *  Let  the  little 
children  come  unto  me,  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven/  "  The  interrogator,  somewhat  taken  back,  said : 
"  The  family  of  Stephen  was  baptized.  Peradventure 
there  were  children  among  them."  And  Claesken  tri- 
umphantly replied :  "  We  do  not  stand  on  adventures ; 
we  have  a  sure  ground."  ^^ 

The  doctrine  of  original  sin  then,  if  believed  at  all,  was 
lightly  carried,  and  in  all  their  defenses  of  adult  baptism 
we  find  the  ever-recurring  statement :  "  Original  sin  has 
been  wiped  out  by  the  atonement  of  Christ ;  our  children 
are  therefore  safe,  if  they  die  before  they  come  to  the 
years  of  discretion  and  confess  Christ  on  their  own 
faith."  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  rhyme  this  belief  with 
the  habitual  hesitation  of  the  Anabaptists  to  receive  bap- 
tism during  the  early  years  of  adolescence.  Young  peo- 
ple under  twenty  were  rarely  baptized,  and  it  was  not 
an  uncommon  thing  to  wait  till  thirty  or  even  later.  Did 
they  believe  that  all  these  unbaptized  adults  still  occupied 
the  status  of  children? 

6.  The  Doctrine  of  Salvation 

The  Reformers,  one  and  all,  had  laid  the  corner-stone 
of  the  building  of  their  hope,  theologically,  in  justification 
by  faith.  For  ages  the  pall  of  semi-Pelagianism  had 
hung  over  the  church.  It  taught  that  God  saves  man 
synergistically.  Man  is  not  dead  in  trespasses  and  sin,  as 
Augustine  had  held  in  the  fifth  century ;  neither  is  he  alive 
and  perfectly  able  to  help  himself,  as  Augustine's  contem- 
porary and  opponent,  Pelagius,  had  taught ;  but  man  is  ill 
and  needs  a  little  help  to  set  him  on  his  feet.  Thus  semi- 
Pelagianism  had  gradually  become  the  fixed  doctrine  of 
the  Roman  Church.     Like  an  electric  shock,  the  bugle- 

"  B.  R.  N.,  II,  326. 


174  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

blast  of  Martin  Luther,  "  Man  is  justified  by  faith  and  not 
by  the  works  of  the  law,"  had  passed  through  the  Church, 
and  it  had  awakened  some,  but  not  all.  The  hardest 
lesson  proud  man  can  ever  be  called  on  to  learn,  is  that 
of  absolute  prostration  before  the  majesty  of  a  sovereign 
God.  And  here  is  one  of  the  characteristic  differentia- 
tions between  the  Anabaptists  and  the  rest  of  Protestant- 
ism. I  may  be  wholly  mistaken,  but  as  I  studied  these 
sources,  in  the  quaint  old  Dutch  originals,  the  thought 
obtruded  itself  again  and  again,  in  reading  on  the  in- 
carnation, that  what  really  was  at  work  here  was  the 
leaven  of  Romanism;  a  conception  of  the  incarnation 
which  left  Mary  intact,  a  perfect  virgin,  after  she  had 
given  birth  to  Christ.  And  in  the  study  of  the  doctrine 
of  salvation,  the  same  thought  came.  The  Anabaptists,  in 
those  early  days  of  foundation-building,  never  got  com- 
pletely away  from  their  old  semi-Pelagian  stamping- 
ground. 

Hoffman  combats  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  sover- 
eignty, common  to  all  the  Reformers;  and  which  Luther 
had  specially  emphasized,  in  his  Servo  Arhitrio,  in  his 
controversy  with  Erasmus,  in  1525.  Hoffman  taught  that 
all  men  have  sinned,  but  all,  none  excepted,  are  called  to 
salvation,  because  Christ  died  for  all.  This  universal  call 
presupposes  the  power  to  answer  it.  The  cause  of  one's 
damnation  never  lies  with  God.  Many  claim  that  they 
have  not  sufficient  grace  to  accept  the  gospel,  and  thus 
they  are  unwilling  to  use  what  they  have  got.  God 
forces  no  one,  but  he  desires  that  every  one  look  away 
from  self  to  God.  On  the  other  hand,  he  warns  against 
over-confidence,  as  if  the  liberty  of  God's  people  means 
license.-''^ 

Doctor  Cramer  has  justly  called  the  last  sentence  "  the 

WB.  R.  N.,  V,  178, 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    175 

premonition  of  the  moral  bewilderment,  which  later 
would  show  itself  in  the  Anabaptist  fanaticism."  Wher- 
ever we  meet  an  Anabaptist,  he  always  deprecates  doc- 
trine and  emphasizes  the  Christian  life.  To  them  Hfe  was 
all,  it  filled  the  entire  horizon  of  all  Christian  aspiration. 
It  largely  extinguished  the  flames  of  hell  and  dimmed  the 
glories  of  heaven.  The  Anabaptists  are  drunk  with  life, 
the  Christian  life,  in  all  its  ardor  and  sweetness  and  pos- 
sibilities. 

Pastor  never  touches  free  will  or  predestination  in  all 
his  writings ;  he  neither  attacks  nor  defends  the  doctrine 
of  God's  sovereignty,  he  simply  passes  it  by  as  unworthy 
of  notice.  But  he  plants  himself  four-square  on  the  plat- 
form that  man  is  able,  from  his  own  strength,  to  save  him- 
self, to  accept  the  teachings  of  Christ,  and  to  embody  them 
in  his  life.*'® 

All  salvation  is  from  grace,  but  that  grace  is  common 
to  all;  in  so  far  he  goes  along  with  Hoffman.  But 
exiled  as  he  is  from  the  communion  of  his  brethren,  Pas- 
tor is  always  and  ever  a  good  Anabaptist,  in  that  he  never 
ceases  to  lay  stress  on  life.  In  his  view  Christianity  has 
little  to  do  with  doctrine.  So  much  of  doctrine  only 
counts  as  is  translated  into  terms  of  life.  If  it  be  true, 
on  the  one  hand,  that  generally  speaking,  the  faith  of  the 
Protestants,  in  the  age  of  the  Reformation,  was  perhaps 
a  shade  too  objective,  that  of  the  Anabaptists,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  absolutely  subjective.  If  the  others  separated 
justification  and  sanctification  to  an  extent,  that  in  some 
cases  proved  absolutely  dangerous,  it  was  because  Rome, 
in  its  theology,  had  blended  them  together  almost  to  iden- 
tification. And  this  same  blending  process  we  find  among 
the  Anabaptists.  With  Rome  they  saw  in  justification  a 
medicinal  rather  than  a  forensic  act  of  God.     The  in- 

«»  B.  R.  N.,  V,  340. 


176  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

definiteness  and  laxity  of  their  theology  made  them  in 
later  years  an  easy  prey  to  every  anti-confessional  cur- 
rent of  thought  with  which  they  came  in  contact. 

7.  The  Sacraments 

Here  we  touch  bed-rock  in  the  doctrinal  system  of  the 
Anabaptists.  Of  the  Lord's  Supper  I  will  say  little,  for 
it  is  not  there  but  in  the  sacrament  of  baptism  that  the 
Anabaptists  radically  differed  from  all  Protestant  bodies 
as  well  as  from  Rome.  In  whatever  respect  they  might 
differ  among  themselves,  here  they  presented  a  united 
front  all  along  the  line.  They  believed,  one  and  all,  in 
adult  baptism  on  confession  of  a  personal  faith  in  Christ. 

Every  candid  historian  will  have  to  admit  that  the 
Baptists  have,  both  philologically  and  historically,  the 
better  of  the  argument,  as  to  the  early  prevailing  mode  of 
baptism.  The  word  baptiso  means  immersion,  both  in 
classical  and  in  Biblical  Greek,  except  where  it  is  mani- 
festly used  in  a  tropical  sense. 

Doctor  Newman's  "  History  of  Antipedobaptism  "  is  of 
great  value  to  the  student  who  seeks  for  definite  informa- 
tion on  the  subject.  Of  even  greater  value  are  the  studies, 
written  by  an  eminent  Presbyterian  and  an  eminent  Men- 
nonite.  Dr.  B.  B.  Warfield,  of  Princeton  Seminary,  wrote 
on  "  Archeology  of  the  Mode  of  Baptism,"  in  the  Octo- 
ber number  of  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  in  1896,  and  Dr.  De 
Hoop  Scheffer,  in  1882,  published  his  masterly  "  Review 
of  the  History  of  Baptism  by  Immersion."  ^®  Here  are 
three  men,  scholars  of  established  reputation  all,  a  Baptist, 
a  Presbyterian,  and  a  Mennonite,  and  all  of  them  remain 
absolutely  and  impassively  objective  in  their  treatment 
of  the  subject,  and  their  treatment  is  wonderfully  clear 
and  illuminating. 

•"  Overzicht  der  GeschiedetUs  van  den  Doop,  by  Onderdompeling. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    177 

The  early  Qiristians  were  Jews,  and  in  adopting  the 
rite  of  baptism  for  the  admission  of  their  converts  to 
the  nascent  church,  in  obedience  to  their  Master's  com- 
mand, they  would  follow  such  practise  of  baptism  as  was 
familiarly  known  to  them.  And  such  a  practise  actually 
existed  in  the  proselyte  baptism  of  Judaism.  It  was  ad- 
ministered by  immersion,  of  such  completeness,  as  Doc- 
tor Warfield  tells  us,^^  that  "  a  ring  on  the  finger,  a  band 
confining  the  hair,  or  anything  that  in  the  least  degree 
broke  the  continuity  of  contact  with  the  water,  was  held 
to  invalidate  the  act."  All  the  lines  between  this  baptism 
and  later  Christian  baptism  run  parallel.  The  candidate 
is  instructed  both  before  baptism  and  during  the  rite; 
there  are  god-fathers,  and  there  is  the  effect  of  bap- 
tism in  producing  a  new  creature.  The  question  is,  and 
it  is  far  from  being  settled,  which  of  these  two  baptisms 
had  priority.  On  this  question  scholars  are  divided,  some 
claiming  that  the  Jewish  baptism  anteceded  Christian  bap- 
tism, others  that  the  reverse  was  the  case.  Doctor  War- 
field  claims  the  a  priori  possibility  that  the  Jews  imitated 
the  Christians  in  this  matter,  or  else  that  both  rites  arose 
from  a  common  antecedent  stock,  and  that  in  the  course 
of  time  both  assimilated  something  from  the  other.  The 
latter  of  course  is  possible,  but  the  former  hypothesis 
appears  to  me  untenable  and  a  psychological  impossibility 
on  account  of  the  fierce  antagonism  of  the  Jew  against 
the  Christian, 

Here  then  again  a  very  hopeful  trail  for  positive  results 
is  lost  in  the  mazes  of  mere  conjecture. 

So  much  seems  certain,  that  the  early  Church  im- 
mersed, although  the  Didache,  which  is  placed  as  early 
as  the  first  half  of  the  second  century,  adds  affusion  as  a 
permissible  mode  of  baptism  in  case  of  necessity.     But 

«^Bibl.  Sacra,  Oct.,  1896,  639. 
M 


178  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

ordinarily  there  is  to  be  trine  immersion,  in  flowing 
water,  by  the  bishop.*^^  The  ecclesiastical  standing,  how- 
ever, of  the  "  aspersed  "  was  for  a  long  period  a  matter 
of  debate.  Cyprian,  in  the  third  century,  comforts  them 
by  telling  them  ^^  that  "  aspersion  also  was  an  image  of 
the  bath  of  regeneration."  But  it  was  only  in  periculo 
mortis  that  such  baptism  was  permitted.  Chrysostom, 
Ambrose,  Tertullian,  and  Gregory  the  Great  all  insisted 
on  immersion.  Infant  baptism  as  well  as  adult  baptism 
was  administered  by  this  mode,  as  does  the  Greek  Church 
universally  till  this  day.  In  the  ninth  century,  the  cus- 
tom of  placing  the  child  erect  up  to  his  neck  in  the  water, 
and  then  pouring  water  over  his  head,  was  condemned  by 
the  council  of  Celichyth,  July  25,  816,  in  England;  and 
this  warning  was  repeated  by  Walifridius  Strabo  before 
A.  D.  850. 

The  change  came  in  the  West,  in  France  and  Italy,  in 
the  thirteenth  century.  Bonaventura  approved  of  asper- 
sion in  case  of  necessity,  but  still  calls  immersion  "  the 
common  custom  of  the  Church."  Thomas  Aquinas  agrees 
with  him  in  the  matter  of  aspersion,  but  deems  it  "  safer 
to  immerse." 

The  councils  of  Qermont,  1286 ;  Anjou,  1275 ;  and  of 
Nismes,  1284,  still  consider  "immersion"  the  rule  and 
"  aspersion  "  the  exception. 

Now  the  compromise  of  immersing  the  body  and  of 
sprinkling  the  head  again  came  up,  and  it  proved  the 
bridge  for  the  change  in  the  mode  of  baptism.  By  the 
close  of  the  century,  this  custom  had  made  much  head- 
way, and  the  council  of  Ravenna,  in  1311,  inverted  the 
order  and  placed  aspersion  first  and  immersion  second. 

England  alone  refused  to  countenance  the  change.    The 

«2  Didache,  Cap.  VII. 

«*  Ezech.    36,    25,   adspersionem    quoque   aquae   instar  salutaris   lavacri 
cbtinere. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    179 

council  of  Exeter,  in  1287,  demanded  immersion,  even  "  in 
case  of  necessity,"  and  John  Duns  Scotus,  in  1300,  in- 
sisted on  trine  immersion.  All  over  the  North  a  strong 
conservatism  prevailed,  in  this  matter.  The  colder  the 
climate,  the  tardier  the  change,  indicating  that  climatic 
conditions,  as  is  often  claimed,  were  not  responsible  for 
the  abolition  of  immersion.  A  century  later,  in  1404,  the 
Synod  of  Langres  names  only  aspersion,  while  that  of 
Meaux  says  naively,  "  Notice  that  the  modern  mode 
is  not  immersion,  but  aspersion  or  affusion."  The  whole 
scheme  of  uniting  the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches 
broke  down,  at  Ferrara,  1438-1439,  on  the  difference  in 
the  mode  of  baptism. 

By  the  time  of  the  Reformation  immersion  had  prac- 
tically disappeared  in  Italy,  France,  Belgium,  and  South- 
ern Germany.  In  Eastern  Germany  the  propinquity  of 
the  Greek  Church  caused  it  to  survive,  at  least  in  part. 
Of  Holland  Erasmus  tells  us,  "  Infants  among  us  are 
aspersed,  among  the  English  they  are  immersed."  In 
the  latter  country,  as  late  as  1530,  the  manual  of 
Henry  VIII,  of  that  year,  prescribed  trine  immersion. 
And  even  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  Edward  VII 
demands  immersion,  except  in  case  of  weakness  of  the 
child.  The  same  usage  prevailed  under  Bloody  Mary. 
Under  Elizabeth  aspersion  gained  favor,  but  even  then 
immersion  was  not  wholly  abandoned.  As  late  as  1645, 
Thomas  Blake  tells  us,  "  I  have  seen,  with  my  own  eyes, 
many  children  immersed."  Adult  baptism  had  wholly 
disappeared  in  England,  and  practically  everywhere  else, 
since  under  the  law  infant  baptism  was  compulsory. 

We  shall  have  to  admit,  therefore,  that  from  the  apos- 
tolic days  till  the  Synod  of  Ravenna,  in  1311,  practically 
all  the  ecclesiastical  documentary  evidence  is  in  favor  of 
immersion. 


180  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Volumes  have  been  written  on  the  testimony  of  early 
Qiristian  art.  But  as  both  immersionists  and  sprinklers 
see  in  the  same  pictures  and  works  of  art  things  which 
are  diametrically  opposed,  we  may  safely  conclude  that 
this  form  of  testimony  is  of  little  relative  value  and  leads 
us  nowhere. 

By  the  time  the  Reformation  had  run  its  course,  im- 
mersion was  wholly  abandoned  in  Europe,  except  in  the 
far  East.  The  Anabaptists  of  Switzerland  did  not  im- 
merse. Wolfgang  Holiman,  who  was  immersed  by  Grebe! 
at  Schaffhausen,  at  his  own  urgent  request,  was  an  ex- 
ception. The  cases  at  St.  Gall,  under  Conrad  Grebel, 
are  set  aside  by  De  Hoop  Scheffer  as  mere  inferences, 
without  any  historical  basis.^*  Neither  at  Strassburg  nor 
at  Miinster  were  there  any  cases  of  immersion.^^ 

Sebastian  Franck,  who  minutely  describes  the  customs 
of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists,  never  mentions  a  case  of  im- 
mersion; nor  did  De  Hoop  Scheffer,  their  greatest  and 
most  acute  historian,  discover  any. 

Immersion  came  back  to  Holland  from  the  Unitarian 
Poles.  Johannes  Geesteranus,  an  Arminian  preacher,  de- 
posed by  the  Synod  of  Dort,  in  1619,  and  a  great  favorite 
of  the  Socinians  in  Poland,  was  the  first  case  in  Holland. 
And  he  was  immersed,  at  his  own  suggestion,  by  the 
Collegiants,  whom  we  will  meet  later  and  who  were 
the  ecclesiastical  free-lances  of  Holland.  This  immersion 
occurred  in  1620.^® 

And  from  these  free-lances,  Richard  Blunt,  in  1640, 
received  baptism  by  immersion.®^  "  He  went  to  John 
Batten,  well  known  as  a  teacher  among  the  Collegiants, 
and,  receiving  the  rite  at  his  hands,  returned  to  England.'* 

"*  Overzicht,  141. 
^  Idem,  145. 
^  Oversicht,  157. 
"  "  A  Question,"  89. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS     181 

Some  who  still  believe  in  apostolic  succession,  find  in  this 
baptism  of  Blunt  the  connecting  link  between  the  remote 
past  and  the  present.  Later  on  I  shall  come  back  to  this 
claim. 

It  is  certain  that  prior  to  1640,  adult  baptism  by  im- 
mersion was  not  practised  in  England,  neither  by  the  Ana- 
baptists, who  came  over  from  Holland  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  nor  by  the  followers  of  Helwys  and  Morton.^* 

David  Benedict  had  strongly  advocated  this  doctrine 
of  apostolic  succession  and  found  the  chain  among  the 
medieval  sects,  up  to  the  time  of  the  reintroduction  of 
the  rite  in  England,  among  the  Particular  Baptists,  in 
1641.  But  a  closer  study  of  these  medieval  sectarian 
movements  has  set  this  claim  aside.  Many  of  them 
it  is  true  rebaptized  those  who  joined  them,  but  they  also 
maintained  infant  baptism.®®  Doctor  Newman  has  clearly 
established  this  point.  The  Donatists  rebaptized,  but  they 
also  baptized  their  infants.'^'*  So  did  the  Waldensians, 
the  main  link  in  the  chain.^^  As  regards  the  practise  of 
the  Bohemian  Brethren,  who  are  viewed  as  the  link  be- 
tween the  Waldenses  and  the  Anabaptists,  Doctor  New- 
man quotes  their  own  official  statement  as  follows :  ^^ 

While  admitting  that  in  times  past  some  of  their  society  have 
rejected  infant  baptism;  they  are  now  prepared  to  affirm  that 
baptism  is  to  be  administered  to  children  also,  in  order  that 
guided  by  their  sponsors,  they  may  be  incited  and  accustomed  to 
a  life  of  faith. 

Doctor  Newman  also  wholly  denies  the  claim  that 
Wyclif  and  the  Lollards  rejected  infant  baptism.''^  The 
most  diligent  search  has  convinced  him  that  prior  to  the 

*«  Idem,  88.  "  Idem,  42. 

~  Lofton,  E.  B.  R.,  11.  '2  «  Antipedob.,"  53. 

''"  "  Antipedobaptism,"  19.  '^  Idem,  55,  56. 


182  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

incoming  of  antipedobaptism  from  the  Continent,  there 
was  not  a  case  of  it  among  English  evangelicals  J* 

Surely  the  Blunt  expedition  was  not  necessary  to  estab- 
lish the  rite  of  immersion  among  the  Baptists  in  England 
and  in  the  world.  It  was  a  broken  reed  to  lean  on. 
For  the  man  who  imparted  was  not  able  to  impart,  hav- 
ing never  received  in  the  line  of  apostolic  evangelical 
succession.  And  stranger  yet,  the  Collegiants  believed 
in  infant  baptism  as  well  as  in  adult  baptism  and  in  sprin- 
kling as  well  as  in  immersion,  for  they  received  members 
of  all  denominations,  asking  no  questions  for  conscience' 
sake.  They  insisted  on  nothing;  each  man  among  them 
was  absolutely  free  to  believe  and  to  do  as  he  pleased 
within  gospel  bounds.  They  were  the  most  elastic  and 
least  dogmatic  sect  that  ever  existed.  They  were  short- 
lived, and  the  bulk  of  them  later  on  joined  the  Dutch 
Mennonites,  who  sprinkled.  It  is  clear  therefore  that  the 
Blunt  baptism,  in  Holland,  could  have  carried  but  little 
weight  in  the  line  of  apostolic  succession. 

The  Blunt  church  soon  went  to  pieces,  and  the  English 
Baptists  repudiated  the  succession  theory  and  adopted 
the  anti-succession  ideas  of  the  restoration.  The  question 
of  the  "  proper  administrator  "  led  to  the  discovery  of  the 
"  proper  administration,"  as  Lofton  says."^^  "  Immersion 
was  never  written  in  an  English  Baptist  confession  till 
1644,  for  the  reason,  as  we  shall  see,  [says  Doctor  Lofton] 
that  it  was  never  adopted  by  the  English  Baptists  till 
1640-164L"  ^« 

The  Dutch  Anabaptists  as  a  sect  never  immersed,  they 
are  sprinklers  till  this  day.  If  the  Waterlandians,  in  ex- 
ceptional cases  permitted  it,  it  was,  as  we  shall  see,  always 
on  account  of  conscientious  scruples,  and  practically  al- 

'♦  Idem,  342. 

«  Lofton,  E.   B.  R.,  60,  65.  66.  '« Idem,  51. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    183 

ways  where  people  had  come  under  the  influence  of  the 
Collegiants;  in  precisely  the  same  way  as  a  Presbyterian 
pastor  has  been  known  to  immerse  candidates  for  member- 
ship who  insisted  on  being  baptized  by  that  mode. 

The  real  issue  between  the  Anabaptists  and  the  rest  of 
Protestantism  goes  far  deeper  than  these  externals.  It 
is  not  a  question  of  the  mode  of  baptism,  of  which  some 
on  either  side  of  the  line  have  made  a  dogma,  and  on 
which  the  Westminster  fathers,  influenced  no  doubt  by 
the  longevity  of  the  rite  of  immersion  in  England,  felt  so 
liberal,  that  when  the  question  came  up,  whether  immer- 
sion should  be  an  optional  mode  of  baptism,  the  Assem- 
bly stood  twenty-four  to  twenty-five  when  it  came  to 
a  vote,  so  that  the  question  was  temporarily  laid  on  the 
table.  Of  that  debate  the  very  phraseology  of  the  Con- 
fession, anent  baptism,  bears  the  earmarks  till  this  day.'''^ 
Says  the  Journal :  ^® 

But  as  for  the  dispute  itself,  about  dipping,  it  was  deemed 
fit  and  most  safe  to  let  it  alone  and  to  express  it  thus  on  the 
Directory:  "He  is  to  baptize  the  child  with  water,  which  for 
the  manner  of  doing,  is  not  only  lawful  but  also  sufficient  and 
most  expedient  to  be,  by  pouring  or  sprinkling  water  on  the  face 
of  the  child,  without  any  other  ceremony."  But  it  cost  a  great 
deal  of  time  about  the  wording  of  it. 

The  real  issue  between  the  Anabaptists  and  their  op- 
ponents is  the  status  of  the  child  in  the  church  of  God. 
It  is  the  question  of  the  identity  of  the  Old  Testament 
Church  with  that  of  the  New  Testament.  It  is  the  ques- 
tion of  the  immutability  of  the  God  of  the  covenant  and 
of  the  permanency  of  the  covenant  of  grace  and  therefore 
of  the  true  Scriptural  significance  of  the  sacrament  of 

"Conf.  Presb.  Ch.,  XXVIII,  III. 

'^  Journal  of  the  Assy,  of  Div.,  by  Dr.  John  Lightfoot,  Aug.   7,   1644, 
299. 


184  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

baptism.  So  much  is  apparent  from  all  their  contro- 
versial writings  on  the  subject. 

By  all  these  Anabaptist  writers  the  issues  are  clearly 
stated.  The  mode  of  baptism  cut  no  figure  whatever  in 
their  debates,  for  the  simple  reason  that  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  they  were  one  and  all 
sprinklers. 

I  have  searched  these  ancient  documents,  with  absorbed 
interest,  to  find  a  trace  of  immersion,  and  I  never  found  it. 
There  was  a  large  amount  of  material  at  hand  for  the 
search.  First  of  all  their  martyrology.  As  I  have  said 
before,  the  accounts  of  these  inquisitorial  proceedings  are 
in  all  cases  verbatim  reports  of  what  occurred.  And 
naturally,  as  these  Anabaptists  all  had  repudiated  their 
early  baptism  and  were  rebaptized  on  their  profession 
of  faith,  the  question  of  their  views  on  baptism  occurs 
again  and  again.  But  in  no  single  case  was  reference  ever 
made  to  immersion.  Now  it  is  self-evident  that  a  de- 
parture from  the  mode  of  baptism,  accepted  and  prac- 
tised at  that  time  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  would 
certainly  have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  inquisitor  and 
must  have  called  for  an  explanation.  But  this  question  is 
never  asked. 

This  is  an  inferential  argument;  but  of  absolutely  de- 
cisive importance  are  the  theological  treatises  of  Hoff- 
man, Menno,  Pastor,  and  especially  Derek  Philips,  in 
some  of  which  we  actually  find  chapters  on  "  true  and 
false  baptism."  The  mode  of  baptism  is  never  so  much 
as  mentioned,  but  the  discussion  always  covers  the  field 
of  pedo-  and  antipedobaptism. 

The  Baptists  of  England  therefore  did  not  inherit  im- 
mersion from  the  Dutch  Anabaptists,  but  reintroduced 
the  practise,  in  1641,  from  independent  study  of  the  word 
of  God  and  of  the  past  history  of  the  church. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    185 

In  the  library  of  the  Baptist  Theological  Seminary  at 
Rochester,  a  little  book  is  preserved,  so  rare  that  besides  it 
only  one  other  copy  is  known  to  exist,  and  that  is  found 
in  the  library  of  the  University  of  Utrecht.  It  is  from 
the  hand  of  Henrick  Rol,  who  was  burned  at  the  stake, 
at  Maastricht,  in  1534.  On  the  title-page  the  year  1536 
is  assigned  to  this  martyrdom,  but  that  is  a  mistake. 
The  title  is  "  The  Key  to  the  Secret  of  the  Supper  "  (Die 
Slotel  van  dat  Secreet  des  Nachtmaels.)  Rol  belonged  to 
the  leaders  of  the  Gulick  reformation,  the  so-called  Was- 
senburg  preachers.  If,  as  Doctor  Cramer  surmises,  we 
find  in  it  the  oldest  document,  coming  to  us  from  the 
earliest  beginnings  of  the  Anabaptist  movement  in  the 
Netherlands,  we  have  here  a  singular  testimony  in  regard 
to  their  original  attitude  to  the  sacraments.  Says  Doctor 
Cramer :  ^® 

In  this  nebulous  conception  of  baptism  and  communion  (water 
baptism  or  spiritual  baptism;  the  communion  of  believers  on 
earth  or  the  adoption  of  spirits  in  Christ's  heavenly  body),  we 
find  the  clearest  exposition  of  the  peculiar  tendency  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Gulick  reformation,  the  Wassenburg  preachers,  to 
whom  Rol  belonged.  In  the  period  1531-1533,  their  ideas  are 
not  yet  clearly  defined;  they  do  not  yet  antagonize  infant  bap- 
tism, and  although  they  gather  believers  together,  they  do  not 
bring  them  into  a  fixed  organization. 

All  this  quickly  changed  with  the  appearance  of  Hoff- 
man. He  is  a  bitter  antipedobaptist  and  finds  no  war- 
rant for  the  baptism  of  children  in  the  Bible.  It  is  not 
an  apostolic  institution — he  tells  us — we  cannot  find  that 
they  ever  baptized  a  child,  "  nor  will  it  be  found  to  all 
eternity."  Faith  must  precede  baptism.  Infant  baptism 
is  anti-Christian  and  of  Satanic  origin. 

But  in  all  this  bitter  invective  of  Hoffman,  not  a  word 

"B.  R.  N.,  V,  25. 


186  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

against  sprinkling,  not  a  word  about  immersion;  the 
thought  of  immersion  apparently  did  not  occur  to  Hoff- 
man. And  yet  the  claim  is  made  that  the  Strassburg 
Anabaptists  were  immersionists.  Their  leader  was  sim- 
ply bitterly  antipedobaptist.^**  Why  did  his  writings 
utterly  disappear,  and  why  is  Hoffman  never  quoted 
by  other  Anabaptist  writers,  and  why  is  his  name  never 
found  on  the  Indexes?  It  was  on  account  of  his  vital 
connection  with  the  Miinsterites,  and  therefore  the  Doops- 
gesinden,  the  followers  of  Menno,  buried  him  in  deepest 
oblivion.  Moreover,  these  men  freely  quoted  the  Scrip- 
tures, but  only  very  rarely  one  of  their  own  contempo- 
raries. They  did,  however,  quote  the  Church  Fathers,  be- 
cause on  them  was  built  the  doctrine  of  the  Romish 
Church,  which  they  had  left ;  for  the  rest  they  rested  their 
case  on  the  Bible. 

In  his  Enchiridion,  Derek  Philips  devotes  fifty-two 
pages  to  baptism  and  twenty-three  to  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per.^^  There  are  many  deeply  interesting  pages  in  this 
discussion ;  the  reasoning  is  always  cogent,  the  style  clear 
as  crystal.  One  never  tires  in  reading  after  Philips,  who 
is  a  deep  and  logical  thinker.  The  whole  argument  is 
directed  to  the  proof  of  the  necessity  of  faith,  as  pre- 
venient  to  baptism.  It  means  the  dying  of  the  old  man, 
the  burial  of  sin,  the  laying  aside  of  the  old  Adam,  and 
the  resurrection  in  newness  of  life.  Derek  bitterly  an- 
tagonizes infant  baptism,  and  uses  all  the  well-known 
arguments  against  it.  It  is  a  human  invention  and  must 
therefore  be  set  aside.  Incidentally  Derek  mentions  the 
fact  that  Luther  chides  the  Waldensians,  because  they 
baptized  their  children  and  denied  at  the  same  time  that 
these  children  exercised  faith.^^     In  all  his  lengthy  dis- 

^Ord.  Gods,  B.  R.  N.,  V,  154. 

81  B.  R.  N.,  X,  69-134.  82  B.  R.  N.^  X,  89. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    187 

cussion  on  baptism,  there  is  not  a  word  on  the  mode 
of  baptism,  nor  a  hint  of  difference,  in  this  respect,  be- 
tween the  Anabaptists  and  other  Christians.  He  even 
speaks  of  "  washing  and  aspersion  with  the  external 
water"  (dat  wasschen  ofte  begieten  met  het  wtmendighe 
water.)  Himself  sprinkled  in  baptism,  he  sprinkled 
others.  It  is  very  strange  that,  in  his  discussion  of  the 
sacraments.  Philips  uses  time  and  again  phrases  and 
words  and  iigures  which  are  found  in  the  later  Dutch 
forms  for  the  celebration  of  the  Supper  and  for  the 
administration  of  baptism.^^ 

His  writings  evidently  were  familiarly  known  to  the 
authors  of  these  forms,  and  they  quoted  them  con- 
sciously or  subconsciously;  either  in  approval  or  in  such 
a  way  as  to  turn  the  quotation  into  a  weapon  against  the 
Anabaptist  doctrine.  The  discussion  of  Philips  on  the 
Supper  would  be  acceptable  to  most  Protestants  today. 
If  there  is  any  criticism  against  it,  it  would  be  a  decided 
tendency  to  spiritualization. 

In  all  the  debates  and  disputes  with  Anabaptists,  on 
the  subject  of  infant  baptism,  their  opponents  freely  quote 
the  Church  Fathers — Irenaeus,  Origen,  Chrysostom,  Ter- 
tuUian,  Cyprian,  and  Augustine — to  prove  its  apostolic 
origin;  precisely  the  line  of  argumentation,  with  which 
we  are  familiar  in  the  various  systems  of  dogmatic  theo- 
ology.^* 

Alas,  for  the  Anabaptists  and  their  views  on  baptism ! 
No  sooner  had  the  schismatic  spirit  begun  to  assert  it- 
self, but  they  denied  each  other's  baptism  and  began  to 
rebaptize  those  who  joined  one  group  from  another. 
And  thus  later  on  the  Doopsgezinden  hated  the  very 
name  "  Anabaptist,"  both  for  its  Miinster  associations 

«3B.  R.  N.,  X,  73,  78,  80,  103,  114,  132. 
"  B.  R.  N.,  IV,  195. 


188  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

and  because  people  called  them  by  that  name,  with  a  new 
innuendo  to  their  habit  of  multitudinous  baptisms.  By 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  they  had  largely 
outgrown  the  evil  practise.*^ 

On  the  Supper,  on  the  whole,  they  held  practically  the 
same  views  as  other  Protestants,  although  their  peculiar 
doctrine  of  the  incarnation,  especially  in  their  earlier  his- 
tory, led  them  into  strange  bypaths. 

Rol,  whom  I  quoted  above  on  baptism,  believes  that  we 
should  not  pronounce  the  words  of  the  institution  over 
the  elements,  insisting  that  it  savors  of  magic.®"  He  also 
insists  that  the  consciousness  of  sin  is  no  bar  to  the  par- 
taking of  the  Supper,  but  that  those  who  live  in  open  sin 
must  be  kept  from  it.®^  But  Rol  places  the  spiritual  com- 
munion far  above  the  outward  form,  which  the  Church 
offers.  The  latter  is  nothing  at  all.  "  If  your  heart  is  at 
peace  with  God  and  you  do  not  come  to  communion ;  noth- 
ing can  thereby  be  taken  from  you,  for  your  name  is  writ- 
ten in  the  book  of  life,  by  the  invisible  divine  Qirist."  ®* 
Michael  Sattler,  in  Switzerland,  introduced  the  weird 
practise  of  putting  bread  and  wine  in  one  dish,®'  which 
practise  had  some  followers  in  small  groups  among  the 
Dutch  Anabaptists. 

Sebastian  Franck  laughed  at  both  the  sacraments  and 
called  them  "  puppet- work  "  and  "child-play"  (poppen- 
werk  en  kinderspel).  No  matter  what  the  Scriptures  say, 
they  must  bow  before  the  testimony  of  God  in  the  heart 
of  man.  And  thus  he  utterly  rejects  the  outward  sacra- 
ments. Derek  Philips  strongly  antagonized  these  views 
in  his  open  letters  to  Franck.    The  Supper  is  only  for 

«»Schyn,  Uitv.  Verh.,  65. 

•«£>,>  Slotel,  B.  R.  N.,  V,  74. 

"f  Idem,  84,  92,  109. 

^  Bine  ware  Bedynckinge,  B.  R.  N.,  V,  115. 

«»B.  R.  N.,  II,  63. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    189 

true  believers  and  for  them  it  is  the  very  bread  from 
heaven.  His  whole  treatise  on  the  Lord's  Supper  reads 
like  some  pages  in  De  Imitatione  of  Thomas  a  Kempis, 
and  has  the  same  mystic  flavor  and  power. 

8.  The  Ban 

The  reformed  Anabaptists,  i.  e.,  the  followers  of 
Menno  and  Derek,  were  very  strict  in  their  views  of  the 
holiness  of  the  Church.  It  was  a  body  of  believers  who 
had  deliberately  turned  their  backs  on  the  world  and  now 
were  a  people  separate  unto  the  Lord.  No  Puritan,  in 
the  balmiest  days  of  Puritanism,  viewed  life  more  askance 
or  had  more  ascetic  ideals  as  regards  a  believer's  life, 
than  had  the  Doopsgesinden  (  Mennonites ) . 

The  Dutch,  in  this  respect,  were  equal  to  the  best  of 
the  Swiss  Anabaptists  and  far  in  advance  of  those  else- 
where. All  the  rest  of  men  were  gentiles,  they  were  the 
chosen  people.  They  always  spoke  of  themselves  as 
"  Christians,"  in  distinction  from  those  who  were  not ;  and 
all  the  latter  were  comprised  under  the  generic  term 
"world." 

The  first  mention  of  the  ban,  so  far  as  is  known  in  their 
circles,  was  made  in  the  decision  of  the  brethren  at  Zol- 
likon,  in  Switzerland.®**  It  was  there  decided  to  excom- 
municate a  brother  who,  after  baptism,  fell  into  sin.  They 
were  apparently  led  to  this  decision  by  the  laxness  of 
supervision  and  discipline  in  the  Lutheran  and  Zwinglian 
Churches.  In  the  bitter  debates  between  the  Anabaptists 
and  their  opponents,  the  former  make  this  specific  charge 
against  Protestantism,  as  they  knew  it,  again  and  again. 
The  bride  of  Christ  must  be  kept  pure  and  spotless,  and 
lo,  this  ideal  seemed  utterly  forgotten.  Of  course  the 
exuberant,  fanatical  Hoffmanite  movement  had  no  room 

•"  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  25. 


190  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

for  strict  discipline,  and  during  the  Miinster  fanaticism 
the  hoi  polloi  eagerly  streamed  to  the  new  standard,  and 
little  account  was  taken  of  their  past  or  present  life, 
provided  they  were  loyal  to  the  king  of  Zion  and  to  his 
kingdom.  But  the  very  extravagances  of  that  party  led 
those  who  separated  from  them  and  who  became  the 
founders  of  the  new  Anabaptists  or  Doopsgezind^en,  to 
put  the  bars  up  very  high. 

It  is  therefore,  among  the  followers  of  Menno  Simons 
and  Derek  Philips  that  the  strictness  of  church  discipline 
reaches  its  culmination.  Of  course  there  were  degrees 
of  rigor,  due  to  the  psychological  differentiations  between 
various  groups  and  nationalities.  The  Latin  mind  does 
not  work  in  the  grooves  of  the  German,  nor  the  more 
vacillating  Flemish  mind  in  those  of  the  stern  Frisians. 

Can  we  wonder  therefore  that  in  a  sect,  so  self-centered 
as  were  the  Anabaptists,  so  utterly  governed  by  the  prin- 
ciple of  individualism  as  they  were,  this  subject  of  the 
ban  should  have  become  the  fruitful,  I  had  almost  said 
the  sole,  cause  of  their  endless  schisms  ? 

Menno's  views,  as  we  have  seen,  were  more  elastic  than 
those  of  his  typically  Frisian  colaborer,  Derek  Philips. 
Menno  was  terrorized  into  stiffening  his  views  on  the  ban, 
because  he  dreaded  its  recoil  upon  himself,  as  was  threat- 
ened by  Leonard  Bouwens.  Derek  stood  firm  as  a  rock, 
immovable,  implacable;  he  needed  neither  threat  nor  al- 
lurement to  set  his  ideal  of  church-membership  as  high  as 
any  ban  could  make  it. 

To  him  therefore  we  go,  in  the  main,  for  our  views  on 
this  very  important  branch  of  Anabaptist  theology — ^their 
doctrine  of  the  keys  or  of  church  discipline. 

Nicolai  has  proved  conclusively  how  widely  the  earlier 
views  of  Menno  and  some  of  his  associates  differed  from 
those  which  were  later  iidopted.    Originally  they  went  no 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS     191 

further  than  the  Scriptures.  Menno  wrote  against  Gel- 
lius  Faber,  in  1539,  his  "Gear  Answer"  (Clare  Beant- 
woordinghe)  and  in  it  he  admonishes  to  absolute  ad- 
herence to  the  instructions  of  the  Bible.  He  there 
unequivocally  states  the  principle  that  only  adultery  can 
break  the  marriage  relation.^^  But,  in  1547,  Derek  Philips 
and  seven  other  pastors  had  finally  resolved  on  a  course 
of  absolute  rigorism.  They  planted  themselves  like  a 
rock  in  their  opposition  to  intermarriage  between  "  be- 
lievers "  and  "  unbelievers."  ®^  We  have  seen  what  they 
meant  by  these  terms.  No  matter  among  the  Anabaptists 
was  deemed  more  vital  than  this. 

No  brother  or  sister  may  marry  outside  of  the  Church.  If 
one  does,  however  pious,  faithful,  and  godly  the  party  married 
may  be,  he  must  be  called  married  out  of  the  Lord.  If  on  the 
other  hand  one  marries  in  the  Church,  such  a  marriage  is  un- 
questionably contracted  in  the  Lord.  Whoso  acts  to  the  con- 
trary is  banned  and  can  never  be  reconciled  nor  readmitted  to 
the  Church,  in  whatever  way  he  may  seek  it,  with  tears,  com- 
plaints or  groans.** 

Some  Anabaptists  recoiled  from  a  measure  so  severe,  and 
thus  an  opportunity  for  schismatic  developments  was 
given.  Shortly  before  his  death,  Derek  Philips,  in  his  last 
tract  in  defense  of  this  position,  in  1568,  shows  a  little 
mollification.  Age  naturally  has  a  mellowing  effect.  He 
is  now  willing  to  receive  the  offender  back.  But  sin 
must  be  atoned  for,  and  he  does  not  recoil  from  a 
complete  divorce,  as  the  remedy.  Remarriage,  however, 
is  not  permitted.^*  There  are  exceptions,  e.  g.,  the  con- 
version of  one  of  the  parties  who  were  married  when 
they  were  both  unbelievers.    In  that  case  they  may  live 

«B.  R.  N..  VII,  46s  p. 

»2  B.  R.  N.,  X,  Van  die  Echt  der  Christenen,  623  p. 

•»B.  R.  N.,  VII,  531  p.  ^Die  Echt.,  B.  R.  N.,  X,  646. 


192  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

together,  provided  the  faith  of  the  believer  is  not  hurt 
thereby.  The  whole  matter  must  be  left  to  the  pastors 
of  the  churches,  in  serious  cases  to  a  conference  of 
pastors. 

Sebastian  Franck  of  course  ridiculed  this  whole  doc- 
trine of  avoidance  (Mydinghe)  and  scorns  it,  as  he  does 
the  external  sacraments,  foot-washings,  etc.®'^  But  the 
opinion  of  Franck  counted  for  little  in  orthodox  Anabap- 
tist circles. 

Philips  does  not  want  to  apply  the  ban  to  those  who  sin 
from  weakness,  but  to  wilful  and  public  sinners.^®  His 
idea  was  that  by  the  ban,  the  Church  of  God  may  be  kept 
pure,  and  secondly,  that  the  penitent  brother  may  thus 
be  converted.®^  But  what  if  a  man  was  hopelessly  cut 
off,  beyond  the  power  of  reconciliation,  as  Derek  first  had 
decided  ? 

If  one  was  "  banned,'*  he  was  completely  separated  from 
all  the  brethren.  The  law  of  avoidance,  (Mydinghe)  was 
awful  in  its  provisions.  No  one  might  speak  to  him,  eat 
or  drink  with  him.  The  only  conversation  permitted  was 
Scriptural  admonition.  The  marriage  relation  was  wholly 
suspended;  but  in  his  last  word  on  the  subject  Philips 
admitted  the  possibility  of  its  resumption,  after  conver- 
sion.®^ 

The  Anabaptist  view  of  the  necessity  of  marrying  with- 
in the  fold,  was  as  absolute  as  that  of  Rome  today.  And 
the  papal  decree  Ne  Temere  was  not  more  rigorous  than 
were  the  ruthless  Anabaptist  enactments  on  the  sub- 
ject. With  these  strict  views  of  marriage  with  "unbe- 
lievers," what  must  they  have  thought  of  Luther's  saying, 
in  his  sermon  on  the  married  life :  ®' 


»5  B.  R.  N.,  X,  495. 

"^Enchir..  B.  R.  N.,  X,  255  p.  "«  B.  R.  N.,  X,  66i,  664,  665. 

»'  B.  R.  N.,  X,  660.  »•  Von  Ehelichen  Leben,  1522. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    193 

Marriage  is  an  outward  carnal  thing,  like  other  worldly  mat- 
ters. Just  as  I  may  eat,  drink,  walk,  ride,  buy,  and  talk  with  a 
heathen,  Jew,  Turk,  and  heretic,  so  I  may  also  enter  the  mar- 
ried life  with  him  and  remain  therein. 

It  must  have  unspeakably  horrified  them.  For  the  Ana^ 
baptists  looked  at  marriage,  even  with  a  pious  Protestant, 
as  a  heinous  offense. 

Precisely  what  happened  in  Ireland,  under  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Ne  Temere  decree,  happened  in  Holland  in 
the  sixteenth  century  under  the  decree  of  avoidance. 
Wives  were  torn  from  their  husbands,  mothers  from  their 
children  in  the  dead  of  night,  and  no  one  knew  what  be- 
came of  them.^^^  It  extended  to  the  complete  isolation 
of  the  banned  person  from  father,  mother,  brothers,  sis- 
ters, husband,  wife,  and  all  others,  whoever  they  might 
be.  It  prohibited  buying,  selling,  eating,  drinking,  etc. 
The  banned  person  was  to  be  helped  by  no  one,  nor  was 
their  help  to  be  accepted  by  any  one,  even  in  case  of 
danger  from  fire,  water,  or  death  itself.  This  extreme 
severity  of  the  decree  was  later  modified,  so  that  help 
might  be  given  in  case  of  extreme  necessity. 

Derek  Philips  had  immense  weight  among  the  Doops- 
gesinden,  especially  after  Menno's  death.  They  consid- 
ered him  a  sort  of  an  apostle.  Hoyte  Renix  writes  ^^^  to 
him,  in  1566,  "  Come  to  us  with  your  whole  family  as 
Jacob  came  to  Egypt,  and  we  will  here  in  your  fatherland 
care  for  you  as  a  dear  old  father  and  serve  you  all  our 
lives."  But  there  was  a  string  tied  to  the  invitation.  He 
must  come  as  a  partisan  of  Renix,  or  else  he  had  better 
stay  away.  Refreshing  reading,  these  old  documents! 
But  the  bait  was  dangled  in  vain,  and  Derek  was  not 
to  be  enticed  away  from  the  straight  path  of  duty  as  he 
saw  it. 

iw  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  438.  ^"*  B.  R.  N.,  X,  670. 

N 


194  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Originally  admonition  of  the  accused  preceded  the  ban ; 
later  on,  when  the  banning  fever  reached  its  height,  this 
practise  was  set  aside.  The  bolt  struck  one  from  a  clear 
sky.  All  sorts  of  sins  were  punishable  by  the  ban.  Those 
early  Anabaptists  made  the  way  of  life  very  straight  and 
very  narrow.  Their  homes  and  their  furniture  were 
watched,  their  clothing  and  their  ornaments,  their  eating 
and  drinking,  their  social  contact  with  unbelievers  or 
"  banned  "  people,  even  things  so  remote  as  whether  one 
might  attend  the  funeral  of  an  unbeliever,  or  stay  at  the 
table  of  an  unbeliever,  if  one  met  there  a  person  under  the 
discipline  of  the  church. 

It  was  a  bleak  life  indeed;  no  Puritan  life  ever  was 
bleaker. 

In  the  true  martyr  days,  when  death  stalked  among 
them,  these  questions  did  not  disturb  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  the  people.  It  was  when  the  stress  of  the  outward 
pressure  lessened,  that  the  stress  of  inner  tyranny  became 
greater.^<>2  Qf  course  there  was  a  milder  tendency, 
common  sense  was  not  wholly  dead  among  them,  and 
that  tendency  after  a  while  became  a  party  and  a  schism 
and  a  new  sect.^°^ 

So  far  went  this  fanaticism  that  bride  and  groom,  on 
their  wedding  day,  were  asked  whether,  in  case  of  a  lapse 
and  of  the  ban,  they  would  mutually  be  willing  to  obey  the 
law  of  avoidance. ^°*  Much  on  the  principle  of  the  candi- 
date for  the  ministry,  in  ultra-Calvinistic  circles,  who 
was  asked  whether  he  would  be  willing  to  be  damned 
for  the  glory  of  God,  if  occasion  arose.  The  ban  led 
to  schisms,  and  schisms  led  to  the  undoing  of  the  ban. 
For  one  sect  among  them  banned  the  other,  till  nearly 
all  had  passed  through  the  bitter  experience;  and  the 

»«B.  R.  N.,  II,  37. 

iw  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  222.  iM  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  53©. 


THEOLOGY  OF  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS    195 

"  banned  "  of  one  sect  were  not  rarely  welcomed  in  an- 
other. Some  literally  played  with  the  ban.  People  were 
"  banned  "  and,  before  the  meeting  was  over  they  were 
received  again.' ^^  It  developed  into  an  inquisition. 
Think  of  it !  If  one  in  secret  told  his  brother  his  fault, 
and  if  this  other  person  did  not  at  once  inform  the  elders 
of  the  church,  both  must  be  "  banned  "  and  be  given  over 
to  the  devil.'«« 

They  aimed  high  in  raising  this  disciplinary  structure ; 
but  the  abuse  of  the  power  of  the  keys  soon  made  it  a 
laughing-stock  and  a  ridiculous  memory  to  their  chil- 
dren's children. 

The  autocratic  and  local  power,  by  which  the  ban 
was  pronounced,  rested  in  the  "  consistory  "  of  the  local 
church,  and  one  can  easily  understand  that  members  of 
a  local  church  were  amenable  to  it.  But  where  each 
church  had  absolute  autonomy  and  was  a  unit  in  itself,  it 
seems  passing  strange  that  the  Hoom  delegates,  with 
Hoyte  Renix  (whose  unctuous  letter  I  quoted  above), 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Bolsward,  and  others  should  have 
the  temerity  to  put  Derek  Philips  under  the  ban ;  and  that 
he  in  turn,  in  a  letter  dated  June  8,  1567,  should  an- 
nounce ^^^  to  Hoyte  Renix  that  "  he  must  suspend  his 
services  till  he  has  cleared  himself  before  the  Lord,  be- 
fore us  and  others,  in  the  presence  of  his  accusers." 

A  similar  letter  was  written  to  Jan  Willems  and  Lub- 
bert  Gerrits  of  the  city  of  Hoorn,  June  30,  1567,  in  which 
they  also  were  suspended  from  their  office  on  the  same 
condition  .^^'^ 

All  these  things  are  anomalies.  The  Anabaptists  evi- 
dently had  not  thought  their  church  ideals  through  to 

"SB.  R.  N.,  VII,  239,  528. 

"«  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  456. 

i"B.  R.  N.,  X,  689. 

"»  B.  R.  N.,  X,  691. 


196  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

an  ultimate  concept.  Everything  in  their  theology,  their 
church  life,  their  views  of  discipline,  was  hazy  and  ill 
defined,  in  a  plastic  state,  in  fact. 

And  yet  they  were  evidently  not  far  enough  removed 
from  Rome,  to  get  wholly  away  from  the  episcopal  idea. 
In  fact,  they  called  their  pastors  "  bishops  " ;  but  how, 
and  with  what  functions  and  powers  ?  There  was  still  in 
them  a  leaven  of  clerical  absolutism  and  a  stern  judg- 
ment of  offending  members.  Or  did  these  leaders  naively 
reach  out  after  apostolic  powers,  without  an  apostolic  mis- 
sion? 

The  more  one  studies  these  early  Anabaptists,  the  less 
one  seems  to  understand  them.  The  Mennonites  aban- 
doned all  chiliastic  dreams  and  tendencies.  The  very 
mentioning  of  the  name  even  dies  out  among  them. 
Chiliasm  had  so  exhausted  its  possibilities  among  the 
Hoffmanites  and  the  Miinster  faction  that  it  was  wholly 
abandoned  and  cast  aside  by  the  followers  of  Menno  and 
Derek  Philips.  It  cuts  no  figure  in  their  later  theological 
development.  Their  eyes  are  wholly  directed  on  the 
path  before  them,  and  their  only  aim  is  to  live  acceptably 
to  God  here  below.  They  leave  the  future  to  God. 
Eschatology,  the  future,  heaven,  and  hell  do  not  occupy 
the  commanding  position  in  their  theology  which  they 
possess  in  the  Protestant  theological  systems  of  their  day. 
One  word  is  written  in  large  capitals  over  the  whole  of 
their  ecclesiastical  and  theological  development  and  that 
word  is  individualism.  It  was  both  their  strength  and 
weakness,  their  glory  and  their  bane. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  AND  VIEWS  OF  LIFE 

In  the  lectures  before  this  we  have  paid  but  little  atten- 
tion to  the  more  intimate  side  of  the  history  of  the  Ana- 
baptists. We  have  studied  their  origin,  their  early  leaders, 
we  have  followed  the  tumultuous  stream  of  their  early  his- 
tory in  the  Lowlands.  We  have  seen  the  terrific  outburst 
of  fanaticism  in  the  Miinster  tragedy  and  the  almost 
miraculous  change  which  took  place  in  them  through  the 
reaction  from  that  fanaticism.  And  in  the  very  rebound, 
they  were  caught  by  the  most  furious  persecution  which 
ever  swept  over  Holland,  literally  drenching  the  soil 
with  the  blood  of  their  martyrs.  We  have  studied  the 
amazing  variety  of  theological  types  which  revealed  them- 
selves in  the  unchecked  assertion  of  that  individualism 
which  was  one  of  their  fundamental  characteristics.  We 
have  seen  the  weird  outburst  of  sectarianism,  almost  as 
intense  as  their  political  fanaticism,  which  divided  them 
into  small,  intensely  hostile  factions.  We  have  studied 
their  theological  aberrations  and  their  bitter  quarrels 
about  the  administration  of  ecclesiastical  discipline — a 
discipline  which  searched  out  the  offender  even  in  his 
bedchamber. 

Small  wonder  if,  under  these  conditions,  many  of  the 
xnore  intelligent  or  less  self-sure  of  their  members  left 
their  ranks  altogether  and  lost  their  identity  in  a  different 
type  of  religious  life ;  or  if,  like  Obbe  Philips  and  others, 
they  did  lose  themselves  in  absolute  irreligiousness  or  in 
a  declaration  of  spiritual  independence,  which  looked  with 

197 


198  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

disdain  on  all  sects  and  all  types  of  religious  life  alike  and, 
sufficient  unto  itself,  refused  to  enter  into  any  temple  of 
man's  building,  whatever  its  name  or  pretensions. 

1.  Defections 

The  defections  among  them  were  sufficiently  numerous 
for  Blaupot  ten  Gate  to  call  attention  to  the  sudden 
growth  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  Northern  Nether- 
lands, which  coincided  with  the  furious  outburst  of  the 
schism  between  the  Frisians  and  the  Flemings  in  those 
regions,  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Among  those  who  early  left  the  Anabaptist  com- 
munion, Carel  van  Ghent  mentions  Christian  Entfelder, 
George  Haugh  van  Juchsen,  John  Denck,  Ludwig  Hetzer, 
Dr.  John  Stabitius,  all  of  whom  he  calls  "  learned  men."  ^ 
That  the  persecutions  were  a  fruitful  source  of  this 
defection  we  learn  both  from  the  text  and  the  songs  in 
Het  Offer,  the  Anabaptist  martyrology.  We  find  there 
repeated  warnings  against  it  and  admonitions  to  stedfast- 
ness.  Many  had  apparently  made  their  peace  with  Rome 
and  had  gone  back  into  its  communion,  and  more  perhaps 
had  joined  the  newly  established  Reformed  Church,  the 
State  Church  of  the  new  Republic.^  And  David  Joris 
had  carried  many  others  away.^ 

Derek  Philips,  in  his  Enchiridion,  also  warns  repeatedly 
against  this  danger  of  infidelity  to  the  common  cause,  and 
urgently  advises  all  Anabaptists  to  look  out  for  the  first 
signs  of  it.* 

The  Roman  Catholic  priests  everywhere  preached  a 
crusade  against  them.  In  the  Southern  provinces  espe- 
cially their  zeal  was  unbounded,  about  1566.  Zwinglians 
and   Melanchthonians,    sharply   distinguished   from   the 

»  B.  R.  N.,  VTI,  si8.  »B.  R.  N.,  II,  136. 

2B.  R.  N.,  II,  loi,  454.  *B,  R.  N.,  X,  i88,  235. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  199 

Lutherans,  abounded  there,  and  "the  Anabaptists,  Cas- 
siandrians,  and  other  heretics  "  must  all  be  rooted  out,  as 
we  learn  from  a  sermon  of  Cornelis  Adriaansz,"  a  Roman 
Catholic  priest  of  Brabant.  Ypey  and  Dermout,  in  their 
history  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  deliberately  state 
that  the  number  of  Anabaptists  who  joined  that  church  in 
the  last  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  greater  than 
that  of  converts  from  Rome.  Some  of  their  churches 
disappeared  entirely,  we  are  told,  and  others  lost  many 
members  and — most  conclusive  proof  of  all — the  records 
of  that  time  prove  that  a  mass  of  people  who  were 
adults  joined  the  Reformed  Church  by  baptism.  As  the 
Church  did  not  recognize  adult  Anabaptist  baptism,  and 
those  who  had  been  baptized  among  the  Anabaptists  had 
thereby  repudiated  their  early  baptism,  they  were  thus 
reinitiated  into  the  Church.®  This  condition  of  things 
slowly  changed  when  the  centripetal  force  began  to  assert 
itself  among  the  Doopsgesinden  and  when  their  civil  and 
social  status  was  finally  recognized  and  improved. 

2.  Their  Views  of  Life 

They  looked  upon  life  as  a  true  Militia  Christi,  a  war- 
fare for  Christ.  Although  subsequently  many  people  of 
considerable  means  were  found  among  them,  they  be- 
longed originally  to  the  masses  rather  than  to  the  classes ; 
or  rather,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the  thrifty  middle  class  of 
society.  While  not  condemning  wealth,  they  looked  upon 
pride  and  ostentatiousness,  in  the  early  period  of  their 
history,  as  a  deadly  sin.  The  blue  laws  of  Geneva  and 
New  England  might  have  been  written  by  them.  As  they 
took  the  Scriptures  in  the  literal  sense,  all  outward  adorn- 
ment was  frowned  on,  in  men  as  well  as  in  women. 

8Y.  en  D.,  Gesch.  der  Ned.  H.  K.,  II,  i8i;  Aant.,  (315). 
•Idem,  III,  54,  55. 


200  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Their  dress  must  be  such  as  behooves  those  who  are 
followers  of  the  lowly  Nazarene.  Their  tendency  was 
ascetic.  Self-denial,  the  pulling  out  of  an  eye  for  Christ's 
sake  or  the  cutting  off  of  a  hand  or  foot  for  the  kingdom 
of  heaven's  sake,  the  crucifixion  of  the  flesh,  the  sub- 
jugation of  the  old  man — these  were  their  ideals.  They 
were  literally  men  of  one  book,  and  that  book  the  Bible. 
How  faithfully  they  read  it  appears  from  their  almost 
uncanny  familiarity  with  its  text.  They  quote  the  Scrip- 
tures, from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  with  a  readiness  and 
an  accuracy,  which  abundantly  prove  that  most  of  their 
spare  time  was  spent  in  the  perusal  of  these  precious 
pages.  We  read  books,  they  read  the  Book;  it  was  their 
vade  mecum,  their  guide,  their  solace,  their  inward  judge, 
their  refuge,  their  all  in  all. 

The  pleasures  of  life,  the  common  excitements  and  pas- 
sions of  life,  its  extravagances  and  dissipations  passed  by 
them  without  touching  them,  they  were  an  eddy  in  a  tur- 
bulent current.  Their  life  was  Christ,  their  death  their 
gain.  Such  a  view  of  life  makes  for  drabness,  a  killing 
monotony;  it  is  apparently  wholly  one-sided  and  must 
inevitably  lead  to  mysticism,  you  say.  Perhaps  it  did,  and 
there  are  not  a  few  pages  in  the  writings  of  these  old 
Wederdoopers  to  indicate  that  it  actually  had  such  an 
effect.  But  it  left  the  mind  placid;  it  sowed  the  seed, 
which  in  England  was  to  sprout  up  in  a  great  variety  of 
new  revelations  of  this  same  Weltanschauung;  and  it  en- 
abled the  long  line  of  their  martyrs  to  go  to  their  death 
with  a  heroism  which  was  a  source  of  amazement  to  their 
enemies  and  of  ceaseless  inspiration  to  their  friends.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that,  had  their  view  of  life  been  other  than 
it  was,  the  entire  Anabaptist  movement  would  have  been 
swamped  under  the  load  of  persecution,  and  that  not  one 
of  their  churches  would  have  survived. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  201 

3.  Their  Confessions 

As  the  Doopsgesinden  or  Mennonites,  that  branch  of 
the  great  Anabaptist  family  which  in  the  main  followed 
the  teachings  of  Menno  Simons,  had  no  fixed  ecclesiastical 
organization,  but  wholly  followed  the  polity  of  the  local 
autonomy  of  the  church,  they  were  averse  to  symbols  in 
the  accepted  sense  of  the  Protestant  Churches.  Logically 
so.  But  the  time  came  when  it  was  necessary  to  show 
the  world  what  were  their  real  tenets,  not  to  be  consid- 
ered in  the  sense  of  a  vinculum  ecclesiarum,  but  rather 
as  a  basis  of  understanding,  of  union  in  a  large  sense, 
and  as  an  expression  of  their  common  faith. 

In  the  eighteenth  century,  Hermannus  Schyn,  one  of 
their  leading  pastors,  outlines  their  position  as  follows: 
They  agree,  he  tells  us,  in  these  things : 

1.  Adult  baptism  on  faith. 

2.  The  office  of  the  magistrate  is  necessary  in  this  sin- 
ful world,  but  Christians  should  avoid  it,  since  believers 
are  citizens  of  a  heavenly  city.  Obedience,  however,  is  the 
duty  of  Christians. 

3.  War  and  all  bearing  of  arms  are  forbidden  to  the 
believer. 

4.  The  oath  also  is  forbidden.^  (Matt.  5  :  33-37.) 

As  to  the  expression  of  their  faith,  the  Waterlandians 
had  published  a  confession  of  faith  in  1580,  written  by 
Hans  de  Ries  and  Lubbert  Gerritsz.  In  1665,  the  United 
Flemish,  Frisian,  and  German  Doopsgezinden  issued  a 
general  confession,  which  became  the  peace  basis  between 
them.    This  general  confession  contains : 

1.  The  Concept  of  Cologne,  of  May  1,  1591. 

2.  The  Apology,  handed  to  the  Deputates  of  the  Court 
of  Holland,  October  8,  1626. 

^  Schyn,  Uitv.  Verh.,  96  p. 


202  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

3.  Met  Olyftakje  ("The  Olive  Branch"),  first  printed 
in  Hamburg  in  1684.  It  contains  the  Psalms  of  David,  a 
number  of  hymns,  and  the  above-named  document — Korte 
Belydenisse  des  Geloofs,  mitsgaders  de  voornaamste  ze- 
den,  welke  in  de  Kerkelyke  discipline,  in  de  Christelyke 
gemeente,  in  zwang  syn  ("A  Short  Confession  of  Faith, 
besides  the  principal  customs  which  are  in  vogue  in  ec- 
clesiastical discipline  in  the  Christian  Church.") 

4.  Korte  Confessie  of  Belydenis  des  Geloofs  en  der 
voornaamste  stucken  der  Christelyke  Leere,  soo  deselve, 
met  kracht  van  Scriftuur,  by  dengeene,  die  men,  met 
\eenen  gemeenen  Naame,  de  Vereenigde  Vrieschen  en 
Hoogduitschen  noemt,  geleerd  werd  ("A  Short  Confes- 
sion or  Profession  of  Faith  and  of  the  principal  points  of 
the  Christian  doctrine,  as  they  are  taught,  with  the  au- 
thority of  the  Scriptures,  by  those  who  are  called  with  a 
common  name,  Frisians  and  Germans."). 

5.  The  Confession  of  Dort,  April  21,  1632,  with 
eighteen  articles. 

6.  The  True  Covenant  of  Union,  approved  at  Leyden, 
in  October,  1664. 

Here  is  the  basis  of  the  Mennonite  faith  of  the  mid- 
dle of  the  eighteenth  century.® 

As  the  Korte  Confessie  is  the  most  circumstantial  of 
these,  it  may  be  well  to  look  at  it  somewhat  more  closely. 
Have  the  Doopsgezinden  changed  their  doctrinal  basis  in 
any  point,  since  we  have  heard  from  them  last  through  the 
mouths  of  their  chief  protagonists?  Let  us  see.  As 
this  short  confession  is  one  of  the  bases  of  union  among 
them,  we  may  consider  that  it  expresses  the  theological 
views  of  the  mass  of  Doopsgezinden,  at  that  time.  It 
contains  twenty-one  articles.  At  many  points  they  agree, 
at  least  in  substance,  with  the  Protestant  confessions  in 

*  Idem,  156  p. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  203 

general.  They  do  so  in  the  articles  bearing  on  the  person 
of  God  (I),  the  creation  of  all  things  (II),  the  fall  and 
restoration  of  man  (HI),  the  purpose  of  Christ's  advent 
and  his  offices  (VI),  the  atoning  death  of  Christ  (VII), 
the  resurrection  and  exaltation  of  Christ  (VIII),  the 
promise,  mission,  and  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (IX),  the 
Church  of  God  (X),  the  Lord's  Supper  (XII),  the  works 
of  love  (XIV),  the  forgiveness  of  sin  (XX),  and,  in 
a  modified  way,  the  resurrection  of  the  body  and  the  life 
to  come  (XXI).  They  differ  from  the  common  doctrine 
of  Protestantism  in  the  article  on  the  free  will  (IV)  and 
that  on  the  incarnation  (V)  which,  though  carefully 
worded,  impugns  the  true  humanity  of  Christ.  Says  the 
Confesssion : 

And  according  to  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  in  the  original  body 
of  Mary,  who  was  betrothed  to  Joseph  of  the  House  of  David, 
but  had  no  knowledge  of  her — ^by  the  power  of  the  most  high 
God  and  the  overshadowing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  at  Nazareth,  in 
order  that  he  might  be  called  a  Nazarene — he  was  conceived 
and  has  not  adopted  flesh,  but  became  flesh,  remaining  what  he 
was,  namely  God  and  God's  Son,  and  becoming  what  he  was 
not,  namely  man  and  the  Son  of  man.  In  this  way  that  we 
acknowledge  that  the  child,  which  Mary  bore  and  which  was 
born  at  Bethlehem  and  grew  up  and  suffered  on  the  cross,  is 
externally  and  internally,  visibly  and  invisibly,  just  as  he  walked 
here,  the  only,  own,  and  true  Son  of  God  and  the  Redeemer 
of  us  all. 

There  is  here  a  veiled  echo  of  the  old  Anabaptist  doc- 
trine of  the  heavenly  humanity  of  Christ.  Note  the  old, 
familiar  stress  on  "  became  "  and  the  heavy  accentuation 
of  the  divinity  of  Christ. 

In  the  article  of  baptism  (XI)  there  is  of  course  the 
widest  divergence.  That  on  foot-washing  (XIII)  is  not 
an  article  of  faith  but  of  practise.  That  on  the  married 
estate  (XV),  also  out  of  place  in  a  confession  of  faith, 


204  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

rings  true  till,  in  the  second  part,  we  come  to  the  in- 
hibition of  mixed  marriages.  That  on  the  office  of  the 
civil  magistrate  (XVI),  while  recognizing  its  necessity, 
yet  forbids  a  believer  to  fill  such  an  office.  The  next,  on 
the  oath  (XVII),  absolutely  forbids  a  Christian  to  swear 
in  any  way.  The  article  on  discipline  (XVIII)  clearly 
sets  forth  the  old  Anabaptist  doctrine,  especially  as  re- 
gards the  punishment  of  those  who  contract  an  outside 
marriage  (Buitentrouw) .  The  authors  evidently  know 
that  the  times  are  changing,  and  therefore  they  express 
their  views  with  manifest  hesitation;  yet  they  conclude 
"  that  such  an  outside  marriage  to  an  unrepentant  one 
and  an  unbeliever  should  be  punished  with  expulsion  from 
the  church,  till  the  sinner  finally  repents."  We  notice  that 
the  way  of  repentance  is  now  left  open;  in  so  far  the 
harshness  of  the  creed  has  been  toned  down.  But  under 
it  still  all  "  outsiders,"  all  non-Anabaptists,  are  "  unbe- 
lievers."   They  are  still  sectarian  to  the  core. 

The  article  on  Mydinge  (avoidance)  is  typically  Ana- 
baptistic.  No  communication  is  to  be  held  at  all  with  the 
one  banned.  He  is  like  one  dead  in  all  worldly  matters. 
Efforts  for  his  salvation  are  not  prohibited,  and  even,  in 
case  of  absolute  need,  help  may  be  given  him. 

The  acceptance  of  these  so-called  confessions,  how- 
ever, did  not  restrict  the  rights  of  the  individual  churches. 
They  were  not  confessions  in  the  commonly  accepted 
sense,  but  simply  efforts  to  arrive  at  a  better  mutual 
understanding  in  regard  to  their  basic  faith. 

In  the  seventeenth  century,  Schyn  tells  us,  there  were 
four  distinct  sects  among  them,  and  by  that  time  they 
recognized  each  other's  baptism  and  began  to  permit 
opening  their  communion  tables  for  members  of  factions 
differing  from  their  own.  But  it  was  a  slow  and  tedious 
process. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  205 

A  compromise  was  established  between  the  Flemings, 
the  United  Germans,  and  the  Frisians,  October  5,  1630, 
and  nineteen  years  later,  in  1649,  the  Flemings  and  Ger- 
mans formally  united  with  this  group.  Between  them  and 
the  Waterlandians  by  and  by  more  cordial  relations  were 
established,  till  they  finally  were  united  on  the  basis  of  a 
common  faith  as  above  described. 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  practically  all 
the  Doopsgesinden  in  Holland,  West  Frisia,  Zeeland, 
Utrecht,  Overisel,  and  Vriesland,  held  their  services  in 
common,  in  city  and  village,  without  any  distinction  of 
name. 

The  very  thing  they  had  therefore  so  bitterly  opposed 
at  the  beginning,  the  writing  of  a  confession  of  faith, 
although  they  never  adopted  anything  like  it  in  the  Prot- 
estant sense,  saved  them  at  last.  And  through  the  con- 
fession which  they  made  and  adopted,  as  a  common  basis, 
the  centripetal  force  began  to  assert  itself,  and  the  horrid 
nightmare  of  their  endless  schisms  became  a  thing  of  the 
past. 

And  yet  in  their  history  it  was  proved  true,  "  The 
fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the  teeth  of  their  chil- 
dren were  set  on  edge,"  for  when  the  occasion  arose  they 
were  ready  to  sever  these  bonds  again.  Only  Amsterdam, 
Haarlem,  and  a  few  old  Frisian  congregations  still  con- 
tinued the  old  schism.'* 

4.  Their  Social  Standing  and  Pure  Life 

Many  historians  have  represented  the  Anabaptists  as 
belonging  exclusively  to  the  poorer  classes.  Fruin  de- 
scribes them  as  de  heife  des  volks,  the  lower  class  of  so- 
ciety. It  is  true  not  many  of  the  ruling  class  or  of  the 
nobility  were  found  among  them,  but  the  general  con- 

»  Schyn,  Uitv.  Verh.,  87, 


206  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

ception  in  regard  to  their  social  status  is  evidently  wrong, 
they  were  not  what  they  were  thought  to  have  been. 

Het  Offer  des  Heeren  bears  silent  testimony  to  this 
fact.  Among  all  the  martyrs  mentioned  in  this  martyr- 
ology,  we  find  only  one,  Claesken's  husband,  who  is  un- 
able to  read.  Elizabeth  van  Leeuwarden  knows  Latin, 
also  Jan  Geertsz.  Jacques  d'Auchy  reads  the  Swiss  trans- 
lation of  the  New  Testament.  Gielis  Matthysz  reminds 
his  brethren  of  their  evil  past,  when  they  were  "  eager 
for  costly  banquets  or  dinner  parties,  yea,  for  pride  of 
apparel  "  (proncken  end  pralen).  Jan  Claesz  had  caused 
six  hundred  copies  of  one  of  Menno's  books  to  be  printed 
at  Antwerp.  They  are  always  reminded  of  the  duty  of 
hospitality,  manifestly  impossible  for  very  poor  people. 

From  all  this  it  appears  that  the  bulk  of  them  belonged 
to  the  middle  class  of  society,  den  niet  onhemiddelden  en 
niet  onbeschaafden  burgerstand,  as  Cramer  puts  it.^® 

After  the  Miinster  tragedy  their  life  was  irreproach- 
able.   Says  the  inquisitor  to  Qaes  De  Praet :  ^^ 

As  to  your  life,  you  have  an  honorable  conversation  among 
all  men.  You  live  peaceably  together,  in  love  and  harmony, 
which  is  very  good.  You  help  each  other,  which  is  also  good. 
You  stand  by  each  other  in  trouble  and  are  willing  even  to  die 
for  each  other.  This  is  all  good.  I  can  say  nothing  against 
it.  .  .  But  what  does  it  help  you  and  you  have  not  the  faith? 

Yes,  they  were  obedient  to  death.  Listen  to  the  last 
words  of  the  Confession  of  Jacques :  ^^  "  I  also  pray,  if  I 
should  have  sinned  against  the  Emperor  or  King,  or 
against  any  one  else,  that  they  may  be  pleased  to  forgive 
me,  through  the  great  love  and  mercy  of  God." 

The  repeated  references  to  showiness  in  dress  and  lav- 
ish ways  of  living,  found  in  this  martyr  testimony,  and 

» Intr.  Het  O^er,  B.  R.  N.,  II,  27. 

"  B.  R.  N.,  II,  247.  ^  B.  R.  N.,  II,  273. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  207 

also  the  distinction  between  the  Flemings  and  Frisians,  as 
to  dress  and  house-furnishings,  give  one  the  ineradicable 
impression  that  we  are  here  dealing  with  a  class  of  so- 
ciety far  removed  from  its  dregs. 

The  name  Slodder  Mennonists  ("  Slovenly  Mennon- 
ites  ")  given  to  some,  has  no  reference  to  their  way  of 
living,  but  to  their  laxity  in  the  application  of  the  ban. 
They  are  thus  distinguished  from  the  rigorous  "  Hard 
Mennonites."  Sometimes  the  word  "  soft "  is  used  in- 
stead of  "  slovenly." 

The  Waterlandians  belonged  to  these  softer  types.  On 
this  account  the  zealots  or  rigorists  called  them  "  an  im- 
pure Church,"  especially  because,  besides  laxity  in  church 
discipline,  they  left  the  oath  entirely  to  the  dictates  of 
the  individual  conscience.^* 

Nay,  we  have  better  proof  than  any  heretofore  ad- 
duced in  regard  to  their  social  status.  We  have  seen 
how  William  of  Orange  interfered  in  their  behalf  at 
Middelburgh,  in  1577,  because  even  then  they  had  been 
able,  instead  of  doing  military  service,  to  assist  him  by 
furnishing  him  with  considerable  sums  of  money.  In 
the  seventeenth  century,  Huber,  the  Frisian  advocate, 
could  say :  ^* 

The  Mennonites  are  not  dangerous  citizens ;  on  the  whole  they 
are  peaceable,  industrious,  well-to-do,  and  they  need  little  for 
themselves.  They  are  therefore  very  much  in  a  condition  to 
pay  taxes  and  in  times  of  distress  to  help  the  country  with  money. 

Did  they  do  it? 

In  the  war  with  England,  in  the  province  of  West 
Frisia  alone,  4,856  Mennonites  paid  the  huge  sum  of  five 
hundred  thousand  guilders,  for  that  time  as  much  as  five 

"B.  R.  N.,  VII,  175. 
"  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  139. 


208  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

million  would  be  today.  Only  a  little  later,  in  the  war 
with  France  and  its  allies,  a  new  levy  of  four  hundred 
thousand  guilders  was  laid  on  the  Mennonites,  in  the 
same  province;  this  time  not  as  a  prayer  but  as  a  direct 
demand.  And  the  money  was  raised.  In  1676  a  third  tax 
of  123,943  guilders  was  imposed  and,  although  this  time 
with  some  trouble,  the  sum  was  raised  again.  When  in 
1672  the  Dutch  troops  in  North  Holland  went  into  winter 
quarters,  they  were  absolutely  in  need  of  everything. 
The  States  General  asked  the  Doopsgezinden  for  aid. 
One  of  them,  Meyndish  Arends  Meyn,  a  well-to-do  mer- 
chant, visited  a  few  of  the  churches  and,  in  a  few  days 
raised  thirty  thousand  guilders,  got  fifteen  thousand  pairs 
of  shoes,  twelve  thousand  pairs  of  hose,  one  thousand 
shirts,  and  linen  and  food  of  all  sorts.^^  In  Groningen, 
in  1666  and  subsequent  years,  in  a  comparatively  short 
time,  twelve  little  churches  raised,  for  the  defense  of  the 
city,  149,810  guilders.  Let  us  say  that  in  raising  these 
huge  sums  they  gave  their  all,  that  they  stripped  them- 
selves bare.  Perhaps  they  did.  But  before  one  can 
strip,  there  must  be  something  to  strip.  Fruin's  heffe  des 
volks  would  have  been  utterly  unable  to  do  these  things. 

They  were  peaceful,  industrious,  and  saving  and  there- 
fore must  make  financial  headway. 

And  Doctor  Maclaine,  living  at  the  Hague,  about  1764, 
tells  us,  a  century  later ,^® 

It  is  certain  that  the  Mennonites  in  Holland  at  this  day  are,  in 
their  table  arrangements,  their  equipages,  and  their  country-seats, 
the  most  luxurious  part  of  the  Dutch  nation. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  then,  if  we  are  to  believe  this 
witness,   their   ancient   simplicity    and    Puritanism   had 

""Idem,  139. 

"Mosheim,  III,  244,  (note  23). 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  209 

largely  departed.  But  it  is  an  added  proof  that  we  are 
not  to  underestimate  the  social  standing  of  the  Doops- 
gezinden,  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries. 

5.  Peculiar  Views 

In  his  bitter  attack  on  Martin  Luther,  in  Sacramen- 
torum  hrevis  Elucidatio,  Eustachius  de  Zichensis  ^^  gives 
us  a  glimpse,  from  the  Roman  Catholic  standpoint,  at  the 
cause  of  the  eccentricities  in  doctrine  and  life  of  the 
Anabaptists.  Says  he : 

By  the  side  of  Luther  other  antagonists  have  arisen,  who 
need  to  be  fought  at  least  as  strenuously  as  he.  They  go  much 
farther  than  Luther.  They  lean  on  their  individual  judgment. 
Being  of  no  standing  in  any  university,  they  leave  on  their  left 
hand  all  that  is  taught  in  the  universities,  all  that  the  most 
sapient  philosophers  and  scholastic  theologians  have  taught;  and 
they  try  to  bring  all  Christendom  back  to  the  time  when  its 
religion  was  still  in  a  state  of  infancy.  They  reject  all  authority 
in  State  and  Church,  they  not  only  criticize  faults  but  they 
condemn  all  ecclesiastical  dignitaries.  They  say  that  all  arch- 
bishops and  bishops  are  common  sinners.  They  deem  that  they 
are  fully  able  to  understand  and  explain  the  Scriptures,  without 
any  one's  assistance,  etc. 

The  last  words  are  a  slanderous  attack  on  the  entire  body 
of  Anabaptist  believers,  as  if  the  g^ilt  of  Miinster  was 
that  of  the  whole  body.  But  he  is  correct  in  so  far  as  he 
sees  the  vitium  originis  of  the  entire  sect  in  their  over- 
weening individualism. 

First  of  all  among  their  peculiarities  stands  their  re- 
fusal to  swear  an  oath.  This  peculiar  trait  of  their  re- 
ligion was  not  original  with  them  nor  did  it  die  out  when 
the  great  mass  of  Doopsgesinden  abandoned  their  posi- 
tion on  the  oath. 

"  B.  R.  N.,  Ill,  295  P- 

O  .       '     n 


210  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Originally  it  was  one  of  their  distinguishing  character- 
istics. By  all  branches  of  the  Anabaptist  brotherhood  the 
oath  was  strictly  forbidden.^®  Matthew  5  :  33-37  was 
taken  in  an  absolutely  literal  sense,  and  all  believers,  for 
all  time,  are  absolutely  inhibited  by  these  words  from 
swearing  under  any  conditions  whatsoever. 

In  the  "Confutation  of  the  Determination  of  the  Pari- 
sian Doctors,"  1523,  the  author  lays  down  as  the  third 
proposition,  "  Because  the  Christian  must  not  love  tem- 
poral things,  therefore  he  must  not  swear  concerning 
them."  The  Parisians  had  called  this  immoral  and  heret- 
ical, but  the  author  replies,  "  Not  darkly  our  Lord  has 
forbidden  all  use  of  the  oath,"  and  then  proceeds  to 
prove  from  the  Scriptures  and  from  the  Fathers  that  this 
is  the  correct  view.  Evangelical  views  do  not  tolerate 
the  oath,  since  every  faithful  word  should  be  as  an  oath.^® 
The  stories  of  the  martyrs  all  alike  confirm  their  abhor- 
rence of  the  oath;  even  under  torture  they  cannot  be 
made  to  swear  one.^® 

Menno  Simons  had  somewhat  broader  views.  He  con- 
tended that  not  every  oath  was  absolutely  forbidden,  but 
only  an  oath  in  temporal  affairs.^^  Adam  Pastor  and 
his  followers  again  were  far  more  lenient  on  this  point 
than  was  Menno;  and  his  views,  even  though  they  were 
those  of  a  heretic,  slowly  gained  the  ascendency  among 
the  Anabaptists. 

Their  views  on  human  government  and  justice  rendered 
by  man  were  extremely  radical.  Of  course  ultimately 
they  were  founded  again  on  their  literal  and  individual- 
istic interpretation  of  the  Scriptures.  No  man  was  their 
master  but  Christ,  God  alone  was  the  governor,  and  Paul 
had  specifically  warned  against  seeking  justice  at  the 

18  B.  R.  N.,  V,  6ii.  »B.  R.  N.,  II,  91,  363,  SoS- 

"  B.  R.  N.,  VI,  503.  **  B.  R.  N.,  II,  495. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  211 

hands  of  outsiders.  If  judgment  was  to  be  rendered,  the 
lowliest  of  the  brethren  were  competent  to  do  so.  They 
reasoned  somewhat  in  line  with  Dr.  A.  Kuyper,  in  his 
celebrated  "  Stone  Lectures  "  on  Calvinism. 

God  alone  is  sovereign.  Had  sin  not  entered  the 
world  this  sovereignty  would  have  been  exercised  imme- 
diately by  God.  In  a  sinful  world  he  has  delegated  it 
to  sinful  men,  and  we  must  obey  them  on  that  account. 
But  all  power,  whatever  it  be,  is  of  God. 

Rebellion  against  human  governments  was  possible 
therefore  only  among  that  type  of  the  Anabaptists  who 
dreamed  the  dream  of  the  restoration  of  God's  immediate 
government  in  this  world.  We  have  seen  how  they  went 
about  this  restoration.  Sober  counsels  brought  more  sober 
views. 

Says  Menno,  speaking  of  the  office  of  the  magistrate,^^ 

I  believe  that  it  is  of  God,  and  that  it  is  our  duty  to  revere  it, 
to  honor  and  to  obey  it,  in  all  things  which  are  not  contrary 
to  the  Word  of  God. 

Most  of  the  Anabaptists,  however,  did  not  tolerate  a 
magistrate  to  be  a  member  of  their  communion,  on  ac- 
count of  the  moral  and  spiritual  perils  attending  such  a 
position.  "  No  Christian  shall  be  a  public  judge  or  hold 
a  public  office."  ^^  Menno  differed  here  again  from  his 
brethren.  He  did  not  refuse  membership  to  magistrates ; 
on  the  other  hand,  he  admonished  them  to  rule  as  be- 
hooves the  children  of  God.^* 

The  Dutch  Anabaptists,  who  followed  Menno,  were  a 
different  people  from  the  Miinster  fanatics,  and  they 
wanted  the  world  to  know  it.  Says  Jacques,  in  his  "  Con- 
fession of  Faith  " :  2« 

22  Schyn,  Quoting  Menno,  Uitv.  Verh.,  32.  24  g    r^  n^  yil,  255. 

»*B.  R,  N.,  V,  611.  »B.  R.  N.,  II,  272, 


212  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

I  confess  that  the  magistrates  are  instituted  and  ordained  of 
God,  for  a  punishment  of  evil-doers,  and  for  the  protection  of 
the  good.  For  they  do  not  bear  the  sword  in  vain,  which  magis- 
trates the  Scriptures  command  us  to  obey. 

But  they  desired  religious  liberty,  such  as  was  guaranteed 
them  shortly  after,  under  the  new  Republic. 

The  declaration  of  faith,  put  forth  by  Smyth  and 
Helwys,  at  Amsterdam,  in  1611,  and  later  revised  by 
Smyth,  states :  ^® 

That  the  magistrate,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  is  not  to  meddle 
with  religion  or  matters  of  conscience,  nor  to  compel  men  to 
this  or  that  form  of  religion  or  doctrine;  but  to  leave  the  Chris- 
tian religion  to  the  free  conscience  of  every  one,  and  to  meddle 
only  with  political  matters,  i.  e.,  injustice  and  wrong-doing  of 
one  man  against  another,  such  as  murder,  adultery,  theft,  and 
the  like,  because  Christ  alone  is  the  King  and  the  Lawgiver  of 
the  Church  and  the  conscience. 

Professor  Masson  claims  that  this  was  the  first  expres- 
sion of  the  absolute  principle  of  liberty  of  conscience 
in  the  public  articles  of  any  body  of  Christians.  But  the 
author  of  "  Puritanism "  correctly  says,^^  that,  though 
it  may  be  the  first  formulated  expression  in  a  confession. 

We  have  evidence  that  places  it  beyond  a  doubt  that  this 
principle  was  apprehended  and  acted  upon  by  a  body  of  Chris- 
tians long  anterior  to  the  period  here  referred  to. 

May  I  add  that  this  confession  of  Helwys  and  Smyth 
was  written  in  a  country,  where  years  before,  at  the  real 
founding  of  the  Republic,  this  principle  was  embodied  in 
the  constitution  of  the  country,  or  rather  in  the  instru- 
ment which  was  destined  to  become  such. 

Says  the  "  Union  of  Utrecht  "  (of  1579),^^ 

*  Gregory,  "  Puritanism,"  370. 

2^  Idem,  371.  38  Arts.  5,  9,  10,  II,  12,  13. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  213 

provided  always  that  every  individual  should  remain  free  in 
his  religion,  and  that  no  man  should  be  molested  or  questioned 
on  the  subject  of  divine  worship,  as  has  been  already  established 
by  the  Pacification  of  Ghent. 

The  Anabaptists  absolutely  refused  to  carry  arms  or  to 
do  military  service.  They  were  pacifists  in  the  fullest 
sense.  And  this  sentiment  was  found  outside  of  their 
circle  as  well.  In  the  account  of  a  disputation  held  in 
St.  Marks,  in  the  city  of  Groningen,  in  1523,  between  the 
Dominicans  and  the  priests  of  that  church,  I  find  these 
words  used,^*  Quaero  si  Christiano  ullum  helium  sit  lici- 
turn,  qui  jubetur  a  Christo  et  inimicos  deligere. 

They  were  not  permitted  to  use  weapons  either  for  their 
defense  or  against  an  enemy,  in  accordance  with  the  words 
of  Christ,  "  Thou  shalt  not  resist  evil."  They  carried  this 
principle  of  non-resistance  to  such  a  length  that  they 
permitted  no  merchant  among  them  to  carry  his  goods  on 
an  armed  vessel,  much  less  to  have  such  a  vessel  in  his 
possession. 

In  their  earlier  days  at  least,  they  had  neither  a  spe- 
cially trained  nor  a  paid  ministry.  They  selected  men, 
in  whatever  walk  of  life  they  might  be,  who  were  of  good 
report  and  well  versed  in  the  Scriptures;  and  to  them 
they  committed  the  cure  of  their  souls.  Small  wonder — 
for  these  preachers  after  all  were  human,  as  we  are — that 
the  author  of  the  Leken  Wechweyser  could  say  of  the 
preachers  among  sects  outside  of  the  bounds  of  the 
State  Qiurch,  unquestionably  referring  to  the  Anabap- 
tists,^^ "  they  are  jealous  of  the  evangelical  preachers, 
because  they  are  supported  by  a  fixed  annuity  and  are 
protected  by  the  magistrate." 

"B.  R.  N.,  VI,  561.     "I  question  whether  any  war  is  permissible  to 
a  Christian,  who  is  commanded  by  Christ  even  to  love  his  enemies." 
*>  B.  R.  N..  IV,  335. 


214  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

The  reaction  from  the  Miinster  tragedy  and  from  the 
erroristic  teachings  of  Hendrick  Niclaes  has  created 
among  the  Doopsgezinden  a  truly  Puritanical  conception 
of  sexual  morality.  The  Miinster  experience  was  past, 
but  not  at  all  forgotten.  For  generations  it  remained  the 
nightmare  of  their  life.  It  seems  positively  amusing 
to  the  present-day  historian,  delving  among  these  musty 
records  of  the  past,  to  see  the  intensity  of  their  eiforts 
to  make  the  gap  between  themselves  and  the  Miinsterites 
as  wide  as  possible.  Read  after  Hermannus  Schyn,  and 
you  will  see  this  effort  assumes  a  form  that  is  almost 
naive. 

The  echoes  of  the  Miinster  enormities  were  heard  in 
the  camps  of  the  followers  of  Batenburg  and  Appelman, 
when  the  millenial  dream  still  was  dreamt  and  where 
an  antinomian  tendency  still  prevailed.^^  Of  all  that  the 
Doopsgezinden  were  absolutely  free.  And  yet  the  women 
occupied  an  honored  place  in  their  church  life.  In  their 
churches  no  musical  instruments  were  found.  Why? 
A  logical  explanation  would  seem  to  be  the  imposed 
secrecy  of  their  meetings  in  the  days  of  persecution,  and 
the  enforced  restriction  of  their  worship  even  when  they 
had  their  religious  liberty  under  the  laws  of  the  land. 
Therefore  their  places  of  meeting  had  no  towers,  nor 
bells,  nor  special  ecclesiastical  appearance.  And  there- 
fore, and  not  because  they  were  on  principle  against  it, 
they  had  no  organs  in  their  churches. 

One  more  word  anent  their  views  of  the  apostolic  suc- 
cession. This  idea,  through  the  latter  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  so  frequently  exploited  by  the  English 
Baptists,  or  rather  a  faction  among  them,  was  not  un- 
known to  the  early  Anabaptists.  Or  rather  let  me  say 
among  them  also  was  a  faction  which  exploited  this  idea. 

«iB.  R.  N.,  V,  5"- 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  215 

The  author  of  Successio  Anabaptistica,  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic, but  by  Doctor  Cramer  accepted  as  an  absolutely  re- 
liable historical  witness,  tells  us :  ^^ 

I  am  dealing  with  the  Mennonites  or  Anabaptists,  who  pride 
themselves  as  having  the  apostolic  succession,  that  is,  the  mis- 
sion and  extraction  from  the  apostles.  Who  claim  that  the 
true  Church  is  found  nowhere,  except  among  themselves  alone 
and  in  their  congregations,  since  with  them  alone  remains  the 
true  understanding  of  the  Scriptures.  To  that  end  they  appeal 
to  the  letter  of  the  S.  S.  and  want  to  explain  them  with  the  S.  S. 
And  thus  they  sell  to  the  simple  folks  glass  rubies  for  precious 
stones.  .  .  If  one  charges  them  with  the  newness  of  their  sect, 
they  claim  that  their  "true  Church"  during  the  time  of  the 
dominion  of  the  Catholic  Church,  was  hidden  in  her.  This 
contention  was  specially  upheld  by  Jacob  Pieters  van  der 
Meulen,  teacher  of  the  old  Flemish  Doopsgezinden  at  Haarlem, 
who  by  the  other  old  Flemish  were  decried  as  Bankroetiers 
("Bankrupts"),  because,  less  strict  in  the  administration  of 
the  ban  than  the  others,  they  had  not  denied  membership  to 
a  brother  who  had  become  bankrupt. 

The  idea  of  an  apostolic  succession  arose  then  in  the 
second  period  of  the  history  of  the  Anabaptists.  The 
Hoflfmanites  knew  nothing  of  it.  And  when  the  reaction 
of  the  Miinster  tragedy  set  in  and  the  Anabaptists  were 
purified  and  led  to  a  higher  plane,  Menno  Simons  never 
mentioned  it.  And  Derek  Philips  knew  nothing  of  it. 
Van  der  Meulen  apparently  started  the  idea.  In  the 
eighteenth  century  Schyn  zealously  advocates  it  and, 
strange  to  say,  in  his  elaborate  defense  of  the  idea  liter- 
ally expresses  some  of  the  words  used  in  the  above  quo- 
tation. 

Among  Baptist  historians,  David  Benedict,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  nineteenth  century,  made  a  final  heroic  effort 
to  establish  it.    The  later  and  more  sober  and  critical 

3*B.  R.  N.,  VII.  8,  510. 


216  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

historians  of  this  great  denomination  have  practically 
abandoned  it.  Rome  claims  apostolic  succession,  so  does 
the  Greek  Church  and  the  Church  of  England,  all  pre- 
latical  bodies  in  fact. 

Protestantism  turns  its  face  to  the  future  rather  than 
to  the  past.  So  far  as  the  Anabaptists  are  concerned, 
it  is  an  exploded  theory  among  the  Mennonites  of  today. 

As  to  the  peculiar  customs  of  the  early  Anabaptists  a 
word  will  suffice.  They  are  practically  all  of  them  re- 
flected in  the  history  of  the  Puritans,  the  Brownists,  the 
Quakers,  and  the  Shakers,  and  similar  ecclesiastical  de- 
velopments. Most  of  them  rigidly  secluded  themselves 
from  all  "  unbelievers  "  or  "  gentiles,"  as  they  called  all 
who  stood  outside  of  their  communion.  They  regulated 
the  wearing  apparel  of  men  and  women.  The  latter  re- 
minds us  of  the  heroism  of  Tertullian,  the  Church  Father, 
who  had  the  temerity  to  write  on  "  The  Dress  of  Women." 
They  tried  to  regulate  the  manner  of  walking ;  how  many 
pleats  there  might  be  in  a  woman's  apron ;  they  regulated 
eating  and  drinking,  both  in  quantity  and  quality;  the 
manner  of  speech,  etc.  All  of  this  to  show  non-con- 
formity to  the  world.^^ 

As  their  horizon  expanded  and  as  their  social  status 
changed,  all  these  by-products  of  their  religious  life 
slowly  disappeared;  and  in  their  later  history  the  mem- 
ory of  those  earlier  strait- jacket  days  must  have  humor- 
ously affected  the  susceptible  among  them. 

6.  Names 

We  have  heretofore  used  the  name  Anabaptist,  Doops- 
gezinden,  Wederdoopers,  and  Mennonites  interchange- 
ably. The  Wederdoopers,  or  Anabaptists,  and  the  Doops- 
gezinden  grew  originally  from  one  stem.    The  distinctive 

»»  Nic,  Inl,  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  475. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  217 

name  Doopsgezinden  originated  through  Menno  Simon's 
saving  leadership.  Their  enemies  always  called  them  by 
the  generic  name  Anabaptists.  As  we  have  seen,  some 
have  tried  to  reason  away  the  historic  connection  between 
the  Hoffmanites  and  the  Doopsgezinden,  but  the  testi- 
mony to  the  contrary  is  too  strong  to  be  denied.  Obbe 
Philips  wrote  his  "  Confession "  (Bekentenisse)  before 
1560  and  it  was  printed  in  1609,  fifty  years  after  his 
death;  and  this  tract  is  one  of  the  monumental  proofs 
of  the  common  origin  referred  to.  The  names  Doopsge- 
zinden and  Mennonites  or  Mennisten  are  of  early  origin. 
Anastasius  Veluanus,  having  scourged  the  Anabaptists  in 
his  Leken  Weckivyser,  says,^* 

But  there  are  many  simple-minded  people  among  them  who, 
with  an  impeccable  walk  and  peaceful  mind,  live  on  in  the  lack 
of  understanding,  namely,  the  best  Mennonites. 

As  Veluanus  wrote  in  1554,  the  name  Mennonite  was 
then  well  known.  Note  also  that  he  speaks  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Menno  as  a  faction  among  the  Anabaptists. 

The  Successio  Anabaptistica,  of  1603,  uses  the  name 
Doopsgezinde  for  Anabaptists.^^  Carel  van  Ghent,  in  his 
Beginsel  der  Scheuringen  ("Beginning  of  Schisms"), 
1658,  taunts  the  Anabaptists  with  their  schismatic  pro- 
clivities and  their  rebaptizing  among  themselves,  in  their 
various  factions,  men  and  women,  who  went  from  one 
faction  to  another,  and  says  ^^  "  that  for  that  reason  they 
were  justly  called  Wederdoopers  ("Anabaptists").  In 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  they  were  then 
generically  known  as  Wederdoopers.  But  Alenson,  in  his 
Tegenbericht  of  1626,  mentions  the  fact  that  the  Frisians, 

3*  B.  R.  N.,  IV,  203. 
ss  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  44. 
»8  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  525. 


218  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

in  their  articles  of  faith  of  1626,  on  the  title  of  the  docu- 
ment call  themselves  Mennonites,  and  that  from  that  time 
they  were  thus  called.^'  And  King  John  Casimir  of 
Poland,  in  his  letter  of  1660,  calls  them  repeatedly  Men- 
nonites and  "  Minists,"  so  that  they  were  evidently  called 
by  that  name  in  Poland. 

From  which  we  may  conclude  that  all  these  names  were 
used  interchangeably  in  the  seventeenth  century  accord- 
ing to  different  locations  or  to  the  preference  of  the 
Anabaptist  factions  in  giving  themselves  a  name. 

As  we  shall  see,  even  in  the  eighteenth  century  the 
names  Mennoniten  and  Doopsgezinderi  were  still  contend- 
ing for  the  mastery.  Anabaptist  then  is  the  generic  name 
for  the  whole  sect. 

7.  An  Analytical  Sketch  of  Their  Church  Life  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century 

Now  and  then  a  book  is  written  which  escapes  the 
ravages  of  time.  The  contemporaries  of  the  author  may 
have  frowned  upon  it,  perhaps  it  was  little  read  in  its 
day.  The  readers  perchance  called  the  author  dry,  too 
lengthy,  too  circumstantial — what  not.  Time  rolled  on, 
and  men  asked  themselves  what  a  certain  thing  was 
exactly  like  at  a  certain  time,  and  they  found  our  author 
and  blessed  him  for  his  tedious,  painstaking  labor  and 
for  the  minuteness  of  his  portrayal  of  things. 

How  little  we  would  know  of  the  true  inwardness  of  the 
history  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, were  it  not  for  the  unspeakable  minuteness  and 
agonizing  accuracy  of  detail  and  infinite  patience  of  a 
German,  who  came  to  Holland  to  study  these  Anabap- 
tists in  situ.  His  name  was  Frederick  Rues.  The  title  of 
his  book  was  Tegenwoordige  Staet  der  Doopsgesinden  of 

^  B.  R.  N.,  VII,  242. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  219 

Mennoniten,  in  de  Vereenigde  Nederlanden  ("  Present 
Condition  of  the  Doopsgezinden  or  Mennonites  in  the 
United  Netherlands  "),  1745.  I  presume  the  book  is  ex- 
tant in  German.  I  read  the  Dutch  translation,  which  is 
said  to  be  rare,  and  is  counted  by  the  Baptist  Seminary- 
Library  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  among  its  "treasures." 
And  thanks  to  that  book,  we  are  able  to  get  a  satisfactory 
view  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  we  are  enabled  to  study  them  in  detail. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  another  work  was  kindly 
loaned  to  me  by  my  colleagues  of  the  Baptist  Seminary  at 
Louisville,  Uitvoeriger  Verhandeling  van  de  geschiede- 
nissen  der  Mennoniten,  van  Hermannus  Schyn,  1744, 
which  adds  a  great  deal  to  the  information  given  by  Rues. 
Alas  the  time  was  too  short  to  send  for  additional  litera- 
ture to  other  libraries  and  to  the  Netherlands.  But  these 
works  suffice  for  the  purpose  in  hand.  They  give  us  a 
clear  idea  of  the  advancement,  in  every  respect,  made  by 
the  Doopsgezinden,  since  the  time  of  their  wildly  schis- 
matic behavior  in  the  later  years  of  the  sixteenth  and 
in  the  seventeenth  century. 

In  Holland  they  had  obtained  religious  freedom  and  a 
civil  status — ^the  right  of  citizenship — in  1672.  But 
neither  England,  Switzerland,  nor  Germany  was  as  yet 
willing  to  give  them  the  same  privileges.  There  the 
Doopsgezinden  were  still  identified  with  the  old  rebellious 
Anabaptists,  whose  enormities  were  still  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  the  magistrates.  Their  refusal  of  the  oath  and 
their  denial  of  church-membership  to  magistrates  of  every 
description,  may  have  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  this. 

By  1630  the  mass  of  the  Flemings,  Germans,  and 
Waterlandians  had  entered  into  an  elastic  union  at 
Amsterdam,  without,  however,  wholly  renouncing  their  in- 
dividual tenets.    Nine  years  later  the  Germans  and  Flem- 


220  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

ings  came  still  closer,  and  thus  the  position  of  the  Water- 
landians  became  a  commanding  one.  The  main  division 
now  lay  between  the  remnant  of  the  Flemings  and 
Frisians,  unwilling  to  enter  the  union,  and  the  Water- 
landians.  The  former  were  called  the  Fine,  as  in  my 
young  days  members  of  the  Free  Church  of  Holland,  in 
Vriesland  were  still  called,  and  the  Coarse.  The  former 
were  strict  in  all  their  ancient  tenets,  the  latter  were  more 
lax  and  inclined  to  liberalism.  Within  these  two  great 
groups,  however,  there  were  still  endless  varieties,  mostly 
on  minor  points  of  doctrine  and  practise.  The  Fine  held 
more  closely  to  the  doctrines  and  practise  of  Menno,  they 
still  clung  to  his  views  on  the  incarnation,  the  ban,  etc., 
and  some  of  them  were  foot-washers.  Individualism,  as 
we  have  seen,  from  the  beginning  had  been  the  bane  of 
the  Anabaptist  movement.  It  kept  them  forever  decen- 
tralized, it  created  circles  within  circles  and  prevented 
them  from  becoming  a  large  and  impressive  body,  with 
commanding  national  influence.  One  of  the  minor  sects 
of  the  Fine  was  that  of  the  Uke-Wallists,  named  after 
Uke  Wallis.  Unlettered  and  unrefined,  he  yet  obtained 
a  considerable  following.  He  was  exiled  from  the  city 
of  Groningen,  in  1637,  because  he  taught  the  old,  familiar 
early  patristic  idea  that  Judas  Iscariot  and  the  other  per- 
secutors of  Christ  might  be  saved.  Removing  to  East 
Frisia,  he  founded  his  own  church,  of  which  remnants 
still  are  said  to  exist.  They  were,  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, a  separate  folk,  rebaptizing  every  one  who  entered 
their  communion.  They  abhorred  elegance  in  dress  or 
any  ornaments ;  their  dress  was  of  the  plainest,  both  for 
men  and  women.  All  men  wore  beards.  Their  aspect  was 
gloomy  and  austere.  Their  homes  were  of  the  humblest, 
even  though  they  had  the  means  to  live  better,  and  they 
strictly  adhered  to  the  rite  of  foot-washing. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  221 

The  Coarse  had  two  main  divisions,  the  Frisians  and 
the  Water landians,  and  among  these  another  serious 
schism  arose,  that  of  the  Gallenists  and  Apostoolians,  thus 
named  after  their  party  leaders. 

The  Arminian  controversy,  as  a  matter  of  course,  had 
deeply  affected  the  always  impressionable  Doopsgezinden. 
The  aftermath  came  in  the  creation  of  a  new  sect,  the  so- 
called  Collegiants,  of  whom  I  will  speak  later.  They 
were  a  body  so  totally  disorganized,  so  absolutely  indi- 
vidualistic, with  doctrinal  opinions  so  loose  and  disjointed 
that  a  subtle  affinity  was  felt,  from  the  very  beginning, 
between  them  and  the  Doopsgezinden.  And  they  exer- 
cised a  considerable  influence  on  the  later  Anabaptistic 
developments  in  Holland.^^  In  the  latter  half  of  the  cen- 
tury, the  position  of  the  Doopsgezinden  in  Amsterdam 
had  become  influential  in  every  way. 

The  Flemish  party  there  had  two  celebrated  pastors. 
The  one  was  Galenus  De  Haan,  a  man  full  of  spiritual 
power  and  of  a  personality  both  imposing  and  attractive. 
He  came  in  touch  with  the  Collegiants  and  took  part  in 
their  prophesyings.  He  was  a  scholarly  man,  well  trained 
in  Greek  and  Latin,  a  graduate  of  the  medical  department 
at  the  University  of  Leyden,  and  practised  medicine  in 
Amsterdam,  according  to  the  Anabaptist  custom,  in  ad- 
dition to  his  pastorate.  Beyond  all  this  he  conducted  a 
training-school  for  young  ministers.  His  contemporaries 
say  that,  true  to  the  fundamental  ideas  of  the  Anabap- 
tists, he  accentuated  life  at  the  expense  of  doctrine,  and 
taught  a  very  liberal  theology.  Once  sure  of  his  own 
position,  he  laid  down  his  views  in  nineteen  articles, 
which  he  sent  to  the  Consistory — our  session — and  then 
published  them. 

The  church  where  he  and  his  colleague  preached,  had 

«8Brons,  T,  oder  M.,  134. 


222  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

the  image  of  a  Lamb  above  the  door,  and  thus  those  who 
worshiped  there  were  called  "  Lammists."  ^^  His  col- 
league, Samuel  Apostool,  also  a  man  of  great  power 
and  influence,  was  of  entirely  different  opinions.  Con- 
servative and  tenacious  of  purpose,  perhaps  a  little  irked 
at  the  greater  popularity  of  De  Haan,  he  organized  a 
party  of  opposition.  He  maintained  that  the  Church 
should  stand  by  the  Confession  of  Hans  de  Ries  and  Lub- 
bert  Gerrits,  mentioned  above.  De  Haan  wanted  only 
the  Scriptures,  with  a  free  interpretation  thereof.  In  ad- 
dition the  old  questions  were  revived,  about  the  divinity 
of  Christ,  his  two  natures,  and  the  three  persons  in  the 
Godhead.*^ 

For  five  years  the  tension  steadily  increased  and  the 
acrimonious  debates  continued.  The  measure  was  full 
in  1664,  and  the  expected  disruption  occurred. 

Samuel  Apostool  and  two  other  leaders  separated,  with 
seven  hundred  members  of  the  church,  and  swarmed  to 
another  hive,  which  received  the  sign  of  the  Sun  over  its 
door,  and  thus  the  "  Lammists  "  and  "  Sunnists  "  were 
born  among  the  descendants  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists. 

Galenus  De  Haan,  with  some  three  hundred  members, 
retained  the  property  of  the  original  church,  after  the 
courts,  in  defiance  of  ancient  Anabaptist  principles,  had 
decided  the  matter.  The  Sunnists  made  the  signing  of 
the  Confession,  mentioned  above,  obligatory  on  its  pas- 
tors and  members  and  had  no  touch  with  the  Collegiants. 
The  Lammists  rejected  all  confessions  and  were  hand 
and  fist  with  the  Collegiant  propaganda.  The  split  passed 
from  Amsterdam  through  the  entire  country,  and  thus  the 
Coarse  Doopsgesinden  were  split  again  into  two  mutually 
hostile  camps.*^ 

3»Idem,  144. 

*«  Idem,  14s.  "  Idem,  X46. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  223 

A  vain  effort  at  reunion  was  made  in  1672,  but  the 
views  of  the  antagonistic  factions  were  too  heterogenous 
for  the  reaUzation  of  the  hopes  of  the  Unionists.  In  cer- 
tain locaHties,  as  in  Zaandam,  in  1687,  and  at  Rotterdam 
and  Leyden,  in  1700,  local  unions  were  effected,  but  the 
main  bodies  remained  apart  for  the  present.*^  True 
union  was  to  come  later.  Thus  the  eighteenth  century 
opened,  with  a  divided  life.*^ 

In  the  analytical  sketch  of  the  inner  conditions  of  these 
two  great  groups  of  churches  among  the  Doopsgezinden 
of  the  Netherlands,  which  follows,  I  will  follow  Simeon 
Frederick  Rues.  (I  make  no  special  page-references  to 
this  painstaking  outline,**  except  in  cases  of  special  in- 
terest and  refer  the  reader  to  the  book  as  a  whole.)  No 
more  circumstantial  and  painstaking  account  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  Doopsgezinden  in  the  Lowlands,  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  has  come  down  to  us,  than  this  work, 
somewhat  rare  today.  The  great  outburst  of  schismatic 
fury  had  spent  its  force  and,  although  split  again  into  two 
main  groups  of  churches,  there  was  no  longer  the  bitter- 
ness and  mutual  condemnation  which  had  characterized 
the  past.  Wherever  they  were,  they  recogfnized  the 
fundamental  oneness  of  their  divided  life.  And  that  was 
a  vast  improvement. 

From  this  work  of  Rues,  written  in  the  true  German 
style,  with  an  eye  to  infinite  details,  we  obtain  a  coup  d'oeil 
of  the  conditions,  customs,  worship,  social  standing, 
church  organization,  etc.,  obtaining,  in  this  century,  among 
the  Doopsgezinden  of  Holland;  and,  in  the  main,  they 
remain  unchanged  till  this  day. 

The  old  distinction  between  the  Fine  and  the  Coarse 
still  was  made.    The  Fine  were  very  fond  of  calling  them- 

*2  Idem,  146.  "  Schyn,  Uitv.  Verh.  79,  83. 

••  Tegenwoordige  Staet  der  Doopsgezinden. 


224  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

selves  Mennonites;  the  Coarse,  who  had  largely  aban- 
doned the  theological  foundation  of  Menno,  preferred  the 
name  Doopsgesinden,  and  so  called  themselves.  As  we 
have  seen,  the  first  great  schism  originated  in  Vriesland. 
The  strictest  part  were  therefore  called  Frisians,  from 
the  Province  where  the  storm  first  broke  out.  The  Old 
Flemings  joined  themselves  to  this  party.  The  Water- 
landians,  whose  home  was,  in  the  main,  in  the  marshy 
region  of  North  Holland,  stood  between  this  strictest 
party  and  the  Flemings  or  New  Flemings,  who  joined  the 
conciliatory  party.  Both  parties  alike  hated  the  Water- 
landians,  who  by  degrees  grew  more  lax  in  doctrine  and 
life  than  others.  In  time,  however,  the  milder  Frisians 
and  Flemings,  together  with  the  so-called  German  Men- 
nonites, refugees  from  Germany,  drew  toward  the  Water- 
landians,  and  this  coalition  shortly  formed  the  predom- 
inating party  among  the  Doopsgezinden. 

The  smaller  conservative  party  then  adopted  the  name 
Old  Flemings;  but  among  themselves  again  they  were 
divided  into  a  number  of  smaller  sects,  without  any  inter- 
communication with  each  other.  Their  main  divisions 
were  the  Dantzigers  and  Groningers,  thus  named  from 
the  places  where  they  developed  their  main  strength. 

The  Coarse  party,  coming  in  more  continuous  contact 
with  the  world,  by  degrees  developed  a  taste  for  the 
sciences,  for  culture  in  general,  and  for  an  educated 
ministry. 

All  these  distinctions  and  combinations  are  entirely 
apart  from  the  schism  between  the  Sunnists  and  Lam- 
mists,  of  which  I  spoke  a  little  way  back,  which  developed 
only  among  the  Coarse.  They  were  the  inheritance  of 
the  past  and  formed  the  background  on  which  the  pic- 
ture of  the  life  of  the  Doopsgezinden  in  the  eighteenth 
century  is  painted. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  225 

The  Fine  party  again  were  divided  into  these  general 
classes:  the  Very  Finest  (Allerfynsten) ,  whose  rigorous 
way  of  living  and  somber  dress  marked  them  everywhere ; 
the  Dantzigers,  who  were  a  tiny  bit  more  lenient,  both 
in  doctrine  and  life ;  and  the  Groningers,  who  besides  this 
greater  leniency  had  somewhat  different  ecclesiastical  cus- 
toms from  the  others.  But  all  together  they  were  classi- 
fied as  Fine  Mennonites. 

Now  what  were  their  doctrinal  views? 

1.  They  clung  to  the  confessions  of  faith,  which,  in  the 
sixteenth  century  and  later,  were  adopted  by  the  Doops- 
gesinden, 

2.  They  followed  Menno  Simons  implicitly. 

3.  They  adopted  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  professed 
by  the  universal  Christian  church;  but  they  denied  the 
propriety  of  the  word  persona. 

4.  They  held  the  peculiar  Christological  views  of 
Menno. 

5.  They  rebaptized  all  those  who  had  been  baptized 
in  infancy  and  also  those  who  joined  them  from  Ana- 
baptist bodies  other  than  their  own. 

6.  They  practised  foot-washing.  The  Dantzigers 
washed  the  feet  of  the  bishop  only,  and  the  housefather 
or  housemother  extended  this,  as  a  courtesy  of  welcome, 
to  the  guest  who  came  to  their  home,  especially  if  such 
a  guest  came  with  the  purpose  of  joining  the  congrega- 
tion. The  father  washed  the  feet  of  men,  the  mother 
those  of  women.  The  Groningers,  on  the  other  hand, 
made  this  ceremony  a  part  of  their  administration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  the  sexes  being  wholly  separated  in  the 
exercise  of  this  part  of  worship. 

7.  They  did  not  tolerate  any  one  who  held  a  public  of- 
fice as  a  member  of  their  churches. 

8.  They  all  absolutely  rejected  the  oath. 


226  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

9.  They  believed  in  passive  obedience  and  forbade  their 
members  to  bear  any  arms  or  ever  to  use  them. 

10.  The  Finest  would  not  enter  any  court  of  justice 
under  any  circumstances,  nor  seek  redress  there  for  any 
injury.  The  Groningers  receded  from  this  extreme  view. 

11.  They  had  ministers  or  elders  and  deacons  in  their 
churches. 

Their  religious  teachers  were  of  two  kinds.  Besides 
the  bishops  or  elders,  who  alone  administered  the  sacra- 
ments, they  had  a  sort  of  adjunct  pastors,  who  preached, 
but  were  not  permitted  to  do  anything  of  a  strictly  official 
character.  The  deacons  held  office  for  life.  No  preacher 
from  any  body  of  Qiristians  other  than  their  own  pecu- 
liar sect,  was  permitted  to  enter  their  pulpits.  No  bap- 
tism was  deemed  efficient,  except  when  administered  by 
one  who  had  been  ordained  by  one  of  their  own  bishops 
or  pastors,  and  so  on.  Hence  many  of  them  doubted  the 
validity  of  the  mission  and  baptism  of  Menno  Simons, 
who  had  been  baptized  by  Obbe  Philips.  For,  both  ac- 
cording to  the  Inlasschingen  of  Nicolai  ^^  and  the  Pro- 
tocol van  de  discussie  te  Leeuwarden,  1597,  this  is  an  in- 
controvertible fact.  Menno  never  mentions  it.  Perhaps 
because  later,  when  rebaptism  became  more  common,  the 
fact  that  he  had  been  baptized  by  a  disciple  of  Jan  Mat- 
thysz,  or  at  least  had  his  official  derivation  from  one 
who  later  on  proved  a  renegade  and  was  called  "  a 
Demas  "  by  himself,  might  have  cast  a  cloud  over  his 
baptism.  This  fear  was  realized,  as  we  see,  long  after 
his  death. 

12.  They  were,  one  and  all,  very  strict  in  the  applica- 
tion of  the  ban.  The  Dantzigers  went  so  far  as  to  believe 
that  the  carrying  of  side-arms  (the  usual  thing  for  a 
gentleman  in  those  days,  as  we  carry  a  cane),  the  em- 

«B.  R.  N..  VIL  362.  461. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  227 

ployment  of  an  armed  vessel  for  merchandise,  a  marriage 
to  one  of  another  denomination,  luxury  in  dress  or  home 
life,  or  the  impropriety  of  having  one's  portrait  painted — 
that  all  of  these  were  sins  deserving  of  excommunication. 
In  Prussia  even  the  wearing  of  a  wig,  in  those  bewigged 
days,  was  an  excommunicable  offense. 

The  Very  Fine  wore  no  buttons  on  their  garments, 
neither  silver  nor  gold  ornaments,  no  buckles  on  their 
knee-breeches  or  shoes.  What  a  life!  By  slow  degrees, 
especially  in  the  cities,  this  strenuousness  was  somewhat 
ameliorated. 

All  contact  with  excommunicates  was  forbidden  and, 
in  accordance  with  the  later  doctrine  of  Derek  Philips 
and  Menno  Simons,  married  people  of  whom  one  was 
an  excommunicate,  were  compelled  to  maintain  an  abso- 
lute avoidance. 

The  Groningers  always  dressed  in  simple  black,  the 
men  wore  long  beards  and  shaving  or  hair-cutting  was 
deemed  a  sign  of  worldliness.  On  the  whole,  however, 
in  every  respect,  they  were  more  lenient  than  the  others. 
All  of  them,  the  Groningers  excepted,  forbade  intermar- 
riage with  people  of  other  churches,  even  though  they  be- 
longed to  the  groups  of  the  Fine. 

They  cared  little  for  culture  or  book-learning.  So  long 
as  their  pastors  "  were  taught  of  God,"  that  sufficed  them. 
They  stood  alone  and  refused  intercourse  with  any  other 
Christian  or  Anabaptist  sect.  They  alone  were  the  true 
Church,  and  whosoever  would  enter  it  must  seek  such 
entrance  by  submitting  to  rebaptism.  They  surely  de- 
served the  name  "  Anabaptist." 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  study  them  somewhat  more 
closely  and  to  look  into  their  organization  and  worship. 

All  power  rested  with  the  male  members  of  the  church. 
Women  had  no  vote,  nor  were  they  permitted  to  speak  in 


228  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

their  churches.  The  elders,  or  bishops,  and  the  other 
teachers  and  deacons  formed  the  Consistory,  which  was 
merely  an  administrative  body.  Everything  that  was  of 
common  interest  must  be  brought  before  the  council  of  all 
the  male  members.*®  The  preachers  were  dressed  soberly, 
but  like  other  gentlemen.  They  were  seated  in  armchairs, 
on  a  platform,  facing  the  door  of  the  meeting-house. 
The  taller  chair,  in  the  center  of  the  row,  was  for  the 
preacher  of  the  occasion.  A  precentor  led  the  singing, 
without  any  instrumental  accompaniment.  They  sang 
only  Psalms  in  the  seventeenth  and  early  eighteenth  cen- 
turies. During  the  first  singing  the  ministers  entered  the 
church  and  seated  themselves. 

The  minister  preached,  seated  in  his  chair.  Prayer 
was  made  kneeling,  but  in  absolute  silence.  The  minis- 
ter outlined,  before  the  prayer  was  made,  the  objects  of 
special  attention.  Strange  that  in  our  recent  evangelistic 
methods  we  have  returned  again  to  this  ancient  custom.*^ 
In  the  meeting  no  collection  was  taken.  The  gifts  of  the 
faithful  were  placed  in  a  box  at  the  door  as  the  congre- 
gation dispersed.  They  had  no  classes  for  cathechetical 
instruction,  as  among  the  Reformed  churches,  perhaps  on 
account  of  their  antipathy  to  symbolized  doctrine,  their 
own  being  very  indefinite.  Of  prayer-meetings  they  knew 
nothing.    Even  at  home  their  prayers  were  always  silent. 

How  did  they  administer  the  sacraments  ? 

We  have  studied  their  theory  of  these  sacraments; 
what  was  their  practise?  Rues  was  an  eye-witness,  and 
he  tells  his  story  in  such  a  vivid  way  that  we  can  see, 
even  across  the  centuries,  what  actually  transpired. 

We  are  still  considering  that  party  of  the  Anabaptists 
or  Doopsgesinden  called  the  Fine  in  distinction  from  the 

**Tegenw.  Staet.,  40. 
*"  Idem,  41  ?• 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  229 

Coarse.  They  baptized  eight  days  before  communion. 
The  new  candidates  were  examined  by  the  preachers,  or 
preferably  they  handed  in  a  written  confession  of  their 
faith.  The  people  were  asked  whether  there  was  any 
objection  against  the  candidates.  If  not,  the  minister 
made  an  address,  setting  forth,  in  general  terms,  the  faith 
of  the  Doopsgezinden;  after  which  the  candidates  were 
requested  to  stand  before  the  pulpit.  They  were  then 
asked:  (1)  Whether  they  were  truly  penitent  for  all 
their  sins,  sought  salvation  in  God's  mercy  alone,  and 
were  willing  to  fight  against  sin;  (2)  whether  they  be- 
lieved in  the  articles  of  the  Apostolic  Confession  (the 
descent  to  hell  excepted)  ;  (3)  whether  they  believed  the 
doctrine  expounded  by  the  pastor  in  his  address,  and 
whether  they  promised  to  abide  in  it.  The  speaker  then 
said :  *'  God  gave  to  Jesus  Christ  a  name,  in  which  every 
knee  must  be  bowed.  Be  pleased  therefore  to  kneel  down 
before  the  presence  of  your  great  Saviour."  He  then 
made  a  heart-searching  address  to  the  candidates  and  to 
the  congregation,  recommending  the  new  members  to 
their  prayers.  He  then  took  from  beneath  his  chair  a 
stone  jar,  filled  with  water,  kept  it  in  his  left  hand,  placing 
his  right  on  the  head  of  the  candidate  and  said,  "  I  baptize 
thee,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  As  he  spoke  the  formula  he  tilted  the 
jar  thrice  over  the  head  of  the  candidate,  so  that  the 
water  flowed  down  his  forehead.  In  the  baptism  of 
women,  the  cap  was  shoved  back  a  little.  The  new 
members  were  then  welcomed  into  the  church  with  a 
kiss  of  brotherly  love.  All  the  teachers  and  preachers 
on  the  platform  did  likewise.  Then  the  benediction  was 
pronounced.** 
At  communion  they  had  silent  prayer,  as  always,  and 

*"  Tegenw.  Staet,  45  p. 


230  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

the  usual  sermon  was  preached.  After  the  sermon,  the 
bishop  went  to  a  table  covered  with  white,  on  which 
stood  some  small  loaves  of  bread  and  some  cups.  Wine, 
in  bottles,  stood  on  the  floor  by  the  table.  Everything  as 
rigidly  simple  and  unritualistic  as  may  well  be  imagined. 
He  took  one  of  the  small  loaves  and  spoke  the  first  words 
of  the  institution,  in  a  dead  silence  of  the  whole  con- 
gregation. Usually  a  few  words  regarding  the  Supper 
were  here  introduced.  He  then  broke  off  a  piece  of  the 
loaf  in  his  hand,  and  gave  it  to  the  pastor  sitting  next 
to  him.  Then  he  passed  through  the  place  of  meeting 
and,  breaking  ofT  pieces  of  bread,  passed  them  to  all  the 
communicants,  a  deacon  closely  following  with  a  basket 
of  loaves.  Then,  as  now,  the  question  was  asked  whether 
any  one  had  been  passed  in  the  distribution  of  the  bread. 
They  did  not  eat  their  bread  but,  with  silent  prayer,  kept 
it  in  their  hands  till  all  were  served.  Only  then  they  ate, 
literally  in  holy  communion.  The  same  proceeding  was 
followed  with  the  cup.  Again  a  silent  prayer,  a  brief 
address,  and  the  speaking  of  the  words  of  the  institution. 
The  bishop  or  minister  ate  and  drank  first,  the  others 
after  him.  The  deacons  carried  the  cups  to  different  parts 
of  the  church,  so  that  all  were  quickly  served. 

Surely  the  administration  of  the  sacraments  was  a 
solemn  affair  to  these  Old  Flemings.  The  Dantzigers 
held  communion  at  stated  times,  usually  every  three  or 
four  months ;  the  Groningers  only,  when  no  members  had 
any  trouble  of  any  kind  with  another.  As  may  be  imag- 
ined, the  Supper  was  but  rarely  administered  among  the 
latter.  Foot-washing,  if  practised  at  all,  accompanied 
communion."*^ 

As  to  their  pastors,  they  had  no  trained  ministry.  No 
man  could  become  pastor  or  teacher  till  he  had  been  a 

*'  Tegenw.  Staet.,  45  p.  53- 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  231 

deacon.  If  a  vacancy  occurred,  the  church  elected  a  pas- 
tor by  a  majority  vote,  and  he  at  once  began  his  work 
without  any  further  ado.  No  ordination  was  required. 
Usually  the  pastors  were  chosen  from  the  teachers. 
A  candidate  for  this  latter  office  was  examined  by  two 
pastors  and,  if  accepted,  at  once  began  preaching,  when 
the  occasion  required. 

If  one  was  elected  elder  or  bishop,  he  was  given  time 
for  consideration.  If  he  accepted,  another  elder  preached 
a  sermon,  after  which  the  candidate  knelt  down,  and  he 
imposed  his  hands.  It  was  all  simplicity  itself.  These 
Old  Flemish  were  extremely  democratic  in  church  affairs. 
Their  marriage  ceremony  consisted  in  a  notification  of 
intention  to  the  bishop  and  an  appearance  before  the 
church.  Again  a  silent  prayer,  as  on  all  occasions.  Then 
the  couple  were  called  forward  and  they  were  asked 
whether  they  desired  to  be  married.  Of  course  they  an- 
swered, Yes.  Then  followed  a  brief  exposition  of  the 
married  estate ;  then  another  question  whether,  after  this 
exposition,  they  still  persisted  in  their  purpose.  Then  a 
hand-clasp,  a  silent  prayer,  a  trip  to  the  town  hall  for 
civic  enrolment,  and  all  was  over.  The  latter  had  to  be 
done,  since  the  Reformed  Church  alone  had  the  jus  civilis, 
or  the  right  of  keeping  a  marriage  register,  so  that  the 
members  of  the  State  Church  were  spared  the  double 
ceremony. 

The  Fine  were  far  less  efficiently  organized  than  the 
Coarse.  They  had  poorer  buildings  and  no  orphan  asy- 
lums of  their  own,  but  paid  individuals  for  the  rearing 
of  their  orphans.  In  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Gronin- 
gers  had  fifteen  churches  in  the  province  of  Groningen, 
four  in  Overysel,  and  four  in  Vriesland.  All  these  met, 
from  time  to  time  for  conference,  in  the  city  of  Groningen. 

The  other  Old  Flemings  had  in  Groningen  only  two 


232  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

churches,  four  in  Overysel,  eight  in  Vriesland,  and  five  in 
Holland. 

There  was  no  paid  ministry  among  the  Fine.  Their 
pastors  or  bishops  were  laboring  men  or  small  traders. 
Within  the  circle  of  the  Old  Flemings  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  yet  scarcely  identified  with  it,  was  a  small  group, 
the  followers  of  Jan  Jacobs  Volk,  called  the  Jan  Jacobs- 
gesinden.  They  were  somewhat  more  liberal  than  the 
regular  Fine  Doopsgezinden,  rejecting  foot- washing  and 
permitting  preachers  of  other  churches  to  enter  their  pul- 
pits. And  more  than  that,  they  permitted  marriage  with 
members  of  other  groups  of  Doopsgezinden,  and  even 
called  pastors  of  churches  other  than  their  own. 

The  Coarse  Doopsgezinden  had  by  far  the  greatest 
strength,  not  because  they  were  actually  homogeneous, 
but  because  they  had  simply  agreed  no  longer  to  disagree. 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Rues  mentions 
among  them  the  following  parties :  ^^  Waterlandians, 
Flemings,  Frisians;  United  Frisians  and  Waterlandians; 
United  Flemings  and  Frisians ;  United  Flemings,  Frisians 
and  Germans;  United  Waterlandians,  Flemings,  and 
Frisians.  Quite  a  kaleidoscopic  aspect  of  things !  But  he 
was  able  to  add  ^^  that  notwithstanding  all  these  names, 

for  about  eighty  years,  there  were  only  two  chief  parties,  Frisians 
and  Waterlandians,  with  the  latter  of  whom  were  also  counted 
the  Flemings,  the  United  Flemish,  and  the  Waterlandian  Con- 
gregations. 

The  Waterlandians  were  spread  over  the  whole  coun- 
try, whilst  the  Frisians  were  only  found  in  North  Hol- 
land and  West  Frisia.  The  Frisians  had  a  well-attended 
annual  synod  and  even  in  case  of  a  union  between  a 

«>  Tegenw.  Staet,  75. 
Idem. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  233 

Waterlandian  and  a  Frisian  congregation,  the  latter  still 
kept  up  its  contact  with  this  meeting.  The  church  Hfe  of 
the  Doopsgesinden  was  therefore  as  free  and  untram- 
meled  by  any  human  ordinances  as  could  be  imagined. 

The  Coarse,  though  liberal,  came  closer  to  the  com- 
mon Protestant  symbolical  faith  than  the  Fine,  excepting 
the  four  main  characteristics  of  all  Anabaptists — adult 
baptism,  and  the  common  views  on  the  office  of  the  magis- 
trate, the  use  of  arms,  and  the  oath.  But  the  Arminian 
and  Socinian  developments  of  the  early  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  as  we  have  seen,  in  their  influence  on  the 
Doopsgezinden,  caused  another  main  division  among  them 
which,  however,  affected  the  Coarse  party  only. 

The  Sunnists  and  Lammists  split  this  entire  wing  of 
the  Mennonites  into  two  bitterly  hostile  camps. 

The  followers  of  Galenus  de  Haan  were  originally 
greatly  outnumbered  by  the  Conservatives,  under  Samuel 
Apostool,  and  for  a  while  it  seemed  as  if  the  Sunnists 
would  triumph  completely  over  the  Lammists. 

But  the  fact  that  Galenus  retained  the  old  property,  the 
church  endeared  to  the  Doopsgezinden  by  many  memories, 
the  personal  magnetism  of  his  leadership,  the  love  of 
learning  and  culture  displayed  by  his  followers,  and  the 
great  wealth  of  the  party  which  remained  with  him — 
all  this  soon  gave  the  Lammists,  weaker  as  they  originally 
were,  a  strong  lead  over  their  opponents.  The  followers 
of  De  Haan  rejected  the  name  Mennonites  and  always 
called  themselves  Doopsgezinden;  those  of  Apostool,  on 
the  other  hand,  standing  much  closer  to  Menno  in  doc- 
trine and  practise,  preferred  the  name  Mennonite. 

Rues  therefore  distinguishes  them  as  the  Remonstrant 
Doopsgezinden  and  Mennonite  Doopsgezinden, 

As  to  their  doctrinal  position: 

The  Frisians  as  well  as  the  Mennonite  Waterlandians, 


234  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

the  Flemings,  and  the  United  Congregations,  all  stood  by 
the  confessions  of  the  earlier  Anabaptists  and  bound  their 
members,  on  their  baptism,  to  these  doctrines.    They  also 
demanded  of  their  preachers  adhesion  to  them. 
Let  me  recapitulate  them : 

1.  That  of  the  Waterlandians  of  1581. 

2.  That  of  the  Frisians,  not  adopted  by  the  churches, 
but  written  by  Peter  Jans  Twisk,  in  1617. 

3.  Two  German  Confessions,  (a)  the  Concept  of 
Cologne,  1591,  (b)  the  Confession  of  Jan  Centsen,  1630. 

4.  The  Flemish  Confessions  of  (o)  Jacques  Outerman, 
1626,  and  (b)  Htet  Olyftakje  (mentioned  above),  of  1629, 
and  (c)  the  Confession  of  Adriaan  Cornelis  van  Dor- 
trecht,  1632,  the  basis  of  union  for  most  of  the  Flemish 
churches. 

The  Remonstrant  Doopsgesinden  rejected  all  of  these 
and  considered  all  confessions,  in  the  main,  as  a  violation 
of  conscience.  The  Bible,  they  claimed,  was  enough 
confession  for  them.  Finally  a  sort  of  compromise  was 
effected  among  them,  and  on  September  26,  1647,  they 
accepted  the  Confession  of  Hans  De  Ries  of  1581,  in  a 
meeting  of  Waterlandian  pastors  and  deacons,  as  a  basis 
of  union,  but  with  this  proviso,^^  "  that  the  Confession 
was  not  to  be  placed  above  the  Word  of  God,  as  a  pre- 
cise rule  of  faith." 

Let  us  understand,  however,  that  the  Waterlandians 
never  bound  themselves  to  any  confession,  and  that  that 
of  Hans  de  Ries  was  considered  only  as  a  personal  state- 
ment of  himself  and  church. 

Some  of  the  United  Flemish  and  Waterlandians  re- 
jected both  the  name  Doopsgesinden  and  Mennonites,  and 
insisted  on  being  called  Christians.  The  American  de- 
nomination of  that  name  may  or  may  not  be  aware  of 

62  Tegenw.  Staet..  80. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  235 

the  fact  that  these  ancient  Dutchmen  preempted  their 
title  to  the  name  Christians.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that 
both  in  respect  to  baptism  and  anticonfessional  attitude, 
as  well  as  in  name,  these  Doopsgesinden  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  occupied  the  identical  position  of  our 
"  Christian  "  denomination  today. 

Like  their  brethren  in  Frisia,  all  the  Mennonite  Frisians 
held  the  evangelical  view  of  the  Trinity,  but  they  rejected, 
like  the  Fine,  the  name  "  person." 

Wholly  unlike  the  Fine,  they  absolutely  rejected  the 
Mennonite  doctrine  of  the  incarnation,  and  they  con- 
sidered the  sacraments  as  "  signs  and  seals  of  grace  im- 
parted." «^ 

The  Remonstrant  Doopsgezinden  followed  the  doctrine 
of  the  Arminians  in  regard  to  grace  and  salvation,  also 
as  regards  the  sacraments,  and  went  even  beyond  them 
in  their  low  valuation. 

Not  one  pastor  of  the  Coarse  party  rebaptized  those 
who  came  from  other  Anabaptist  sects,  when  they  had 
been  baptized  as  adults.  Some  even  went  so  far  as  to 
recognize  infant  baptism  and  to  require  of  those  baptized 
in  infancy  only  a  sort  of  confirmation.*^*  This,  however, 
was  wholly  confined  to  the  Remonstrant  Doopsgezinden. 

The  Waterlandians  and  Frisians  or  Mennonite  Doops- 
gezinden did  not  admit  any  one  to  the  Lord's  table  who 
did  not  believe  as  they  did,  and  therefore  their  table  was 
closed  against  all  Protestants  and  all  Doopsgezinden  who 
did  not  subscribe  to  their  confessions. 

The  Remonstrant  Doopsgezinden,  on  the  other  hand, 
claimed  that  "  the  table  of  the  Lord  was  open  to  all  those 
who  were  guided  by  the  Word  of  God  and  walked  cir- 
cumspectly," ^'^ 

"  Tegenw.  Staet.,  93. 

**  Idem,  94.  *  Idem,  95. 


236  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

And  thus  they  received  members  of  other  churches 
as  "  guests  "  at  their  communion  table. 

All  the  Coarse  Doopsgednden  abolished  foot- washing. 
They  even  permitted  their  members  to  be  magistrates 
and  thus  differed  in  toto  from  the  Fine.  Nay,  as  regards 
the  oath,  the  Remonstrant  Doopsgezinden,  in  the  eight- 
eenth century,  had  considerably  changed  their  views,  and 
they  permitted  the  oath  of  confirmation,  but  still  inter- 
dicted that  which  bound  one  for  the  future.^®  As  to  the 
matter  of  resistance,  the  Remonstrant  Doopsgezinden,  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  called  themselves  Wraekelooze 
Christensen,  ("unavenging  Christians").  As  to  arms 
and  their  use,  they  permitted  their  defensive  use,  but  for- 
bade their  offensive  use. 

Their  men  therefore  bore  side-arms  and  permitted  trade 
on  armed  vessels.  They  had  evidently  traveled  many  a 
league  from  the  trodden  path  of  ancient  Anabaptist  views 
and  had  relinquished  many  of  the  old  fundamentals. 

They  were  more  bureaucratic  and  aristocratic  than  the 
Fine.  The  power  of  the  membership  among  the  Coarse 
had  been  largely  transferred  to  the  consistory  or  church 
board.  The  latter  body  decided  everything  and  unless 
there  arose  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  congregation, 
this  settled  a  matter  finally.  In  this  regard  they  adopted 
the  polity  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  (State)  Church. 

As  regards  the  ban,  they  were  far  milder  than  the  Fine. 
Only  great  sins  were  punished  by  excommunication.  The 
Frisian  and  Mennonite  Waterlandians  included  heresy  in 
this  category,  the  Remonstrant  Doopsgezinden  rejected 
this  view.  Liberal  without  limitation  themselves,  how 
could  they  ban  one  for  heresy?  And  what,  pray,  was 
heresy?  They  claimed  that  unity  cannot  be  broken  by 
a  difference  in  the  expression  of  faith.     They  utterly 

"•Idem,  97, 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  237 

abandoned  the  old  cruel  position  of  avoidance  under  the 
ban.  They  permitted  mixed  marriages  even  with  Cath- 
olics. The  entire  Coarse  party  magnified  intellectual 
training,  especially  for  their  ministry.  This  was  especially 
so  among  the  Remonstrant  Doopsgezind^en. 

All  of  them  believed  that  the  Church  revealed  itself 
in  other  branches  of  Christendom,  as  well  as  in  their  own 
churches,  and  hence  they  maintained  constant  intercourse 
with  other  Christians.  They  were  therefore  as  far  re- 
moved from  the  Fine,  or  from  the  old  Anabaptists,  as  the 
south  pole  is  removed  from  the  north  pole.  In  fact,  the 
Remonstrant  Doopsgezinden  had  for  their  motto,^^  "  Not 
holiness  but  tolerance  is  the  privilege  of  the  Church." 

As  to  their  church  polity,  all  the  powers  of  the  con- 
gregation were  vested  and  centralized  in  the  consistory. 
It  consisted  of  the  ministers,  ministerial  candidates  {pro- 
ponenten),  and  deacons.  Their  number  varied,  according 
to  the  opulence  of  the  church.  An  act  of  the  consistory 
became  binding  by  the  assent  of  the  church.  The  preach- 
ers were  salaried,  and  even  the  ministerial  candidates,  in 
Amsterdam,  received  three  hundred  guilders  per  annum. 
Ministers  dressed  in  gown  and  bands,  like  the  ministers 
of  the  State  Church,  and  the  candidates  imitated  their 
dress  as  closely  as  their  means  warranted.  In  Amster- 
dam all  deacons,  officiating  at  the  services  of  the  church, 
were  dressed  in  black  and  wore  bands. 

Among  the  Frisians,  the  deacons  served  for  life ;  among 
the  others,  for  a  fixed  period,  usually  from  five  to  seven 
years,  after  which  an  equal  period  had  to  elapse  before 
reelection  was  possible. 

In  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Remon- 
strant Doopsgezinden  in  Amsterdam  maintained  a  pro- 
fessor 'of  theology  for  the  training  of  young  ministers,  at 

^^  Idem,  105. 


238  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

a  stipend  of  two  thousand  guilders ;  for  that  time  an  enor- 
mous salary. 

The  Mennonite  Waterlandians  and  Flemings  refused  to 
support  this  new  departure.  They  demanded  assurance 
as  to  the  character  of  theology  taught,  and  moreover  they 
still  followed,  at  least  for  the  greater  part,  the  ancient 
Anabaptist  custom  of  a  self-supporting  ministry,  uncon- 
taminated  by  the  breath  of  the  schools.  The  salaries  of 
the  Amsterdam  pastors  were  large  for  that  day,  running 
between  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  two  thousand 
guilders. 

As  to  their  worship,  it  is  curious  to  notice  how,  in  the 
cities  at  least,  the  Doopsgezinden  had  adopted  customs 
and  manners  of  address  and  external  forms  from  the 
State  Church,  whose  overpowering  and  killing  influence 
was  felt  by  them  everywhere  in  the  land.  Their  pastors 
therefore  were  called  "  domine  "  as  in  the  State  Church. 
They  appeared  in  the  pulpit  in  gown  and  bands,  a  cus- 
tom forbidden  by  the  more  conservative  Frisians.  Their 
churches  had  high  pulpits  like  the  State  churches.  The 
consistory,  here  as  there,  was  seated  in  an  enclosed  space, 
on  each  side  of  the  pulpit.  The  precentor  opened  the 
meeting,  and  the  pastors  and  consistory  entered  the 
church  during  this  singing.  In  Amsterdam  they  had 
even  borrowed  from  the  State  Church  the  office  of  cate- 
chist,  for  the  teaching  of  their  children  in  the  faith  of  the 
Church. 

All  prayers  were  audible,  made  by  the  pastor.  The 
collection  was  made  in  conventional  black  velvet  bags  on 
a  long  stick,  having  a  tinkling  little  bell  in  the  pendant 
tassel,  to  remind  the  drowsy  church-member  of  the  fact 
that  the  time  for  making  his  offering  was  at  hand. 

As  to  the  sacraments,  they  followed  practically  the 
same  method  we  have  observed  among  the  Fine  Weder- 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  239 

doopers,  with  some  slight  differences.  The  same  an- 
nouncement of  the  names  of  the  candidates  for  baptism 
was  made  from  the  pulpit;  the  same  address  was  made, 
and  the  same  questions  were  asked.  The  candidate 
kneeled  before  the  ministers  here  as  there,  but  the  jar 
of  water  was  absent.  In  its  place  was  a  little  stool-like 
table,  with  a  silver  basin  on  it.  In  the  administration 
of  baptism  the  minister  formed  his  two  hands  into  a 
cup,  and  dipping  them  in  the  vessel  standing  on  the 
stand  or  held  by  another  minister,  he  poured  the  full 
contents  of  the  hands  on  the  head  of  the  candidate,  as  he 
was  pronouncing  the  usual  formula.  Young  people,  i.  e., 
very  young  people,  were  rarely  baptized.  Eighteen  or 
twenty  years  was  considered  a  very  early  time  of  life  for 
baptism.  They  not  rarely  waited  till  they  were  forty  or 
fifty." 

The  only  cases  of  immersion  among  the  Anabaptists  of 
Holland  we  find,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  among  the 
Remonstrant  Doopsgezinden.  Like  the  English  Baptists, 
they  had  come  in  contact  with  the  Collegiants,  and  their 
pastors,  or  at  least  some  of  them,  as  today  among  the 
Presbyterians,  were  willing  to  immerse  a  candidate  for 
baptism,  if  he  insisted  on  being  baptized  by  this  mode. 
Says  Rues : «» 

In  such  a  case  they  go  with  him  to  a  dyeing  establishment,  and 
a  tub  is  filled  with  tepid  water.  The  candidate  appears  in  his 
nether  garments  and  passes  into  the  tub,  where  the  baptizer  dips 
him  under  the  water,  following  the  usual  ritual. 

Such  cases  were  confined  to  people  who  were  influenced 
by  the  Collegiants,  who  were  strongly  represented  at 
Amsterdam.     The  latter  immersed  and  impressed  their 

"Idem,  135. 
*  Idem,  136. 


240  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

hearers  with  the  necessity  of  this  kind  of  baptism.  As  no 
one  was  ever  rebaptized  after  having  received  adult  bap- 
tism by  the  Coarse  Doopsgesinden,  they  totally  rejected 
the  name  Wederdoopers.  Strange  to  say  the  Remon- 
strant Doopsgesinden,  the  followers  of  De  Haan,  so 
liberal  in  every  other  way,  made  an  exception  of  people 
baptized  by  the  CoUegiants  and  rebaptized  them  by  sprink- 
ling.   Why  ? 

They  rejected  their  baptism,  though  they  were  willing, 
if  people  desired  it,  to  follow  their  mode  of  baptism,  "  be- 
cause these  people  are  baptized  by  men  who  have  no  mis- 
sion (sending)  and  who  are  not  in  the  public  ministry  of 
the  Word,  in  any  Church."  ^^  One  of  the  fundamental 
points  of  the  CoUegiant  organization  was  the  denial  of 
the  rights  of  an  ordained  ministry. 

In  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  they  fol- 
lowed on  the  whole  the  same  customs  as  the  Fine.  The 
Mennonite  Doopsgesinden  admitted  only  those  who  were 
baptized  on  confession,  and  therefore  the  officiating  min- 
ister required  all  not  thus  qualified  to  abstain  from  par- 
ticipating. The  Remonstrant  Doopsgesinden  were  far 
more  liberal  and  invited  all  who  believed  in  Christ  as 
their  Saviour,  whether  as  members  or  as  "  guests."  In 
the  Flemish  and  Frisian  churches,  the  elements  were 
passed  among  the  communicants,  in  their  seats.  Among 
the  Waterlandians,  they  came  to  a  table  spread  with  fine 
linen,  before  the  pulpit,  at  which  from  eighteen  to  twenty 
members  could  commune  at  a  time.  It  was  filled  and 
refilled  till  all  were  served.  The  same  custom  as  among 
the  Fine  obtained,  i.  e.,  of  retaining  the  bread  till  all 
were  served  and  then  eating  it  together.  When  there  was 
no  table,  the  deacons  served  the  wine,  after  the  pastor 
had  served  the  bread,  and  to  that  end  jugs  of  wine  were 

~Idem,  138. 


INTERNAL  CONDITIONS  241 

carried  around  the  church  to  refill  the  cups  as  they  were 
emptied.  From  which  one  may  conclude  that  they  were 
as  literal  here  as  in  their  exegesis  of  the  rest  of  Scrip- 
ture. "'  Drink  "  meant  drink  and  not  sip  to  them.  Dur- 
ing communion,  people  sang  or  appropriate  passages  of 
Scripture  were  read.^^ 

Communion  was  held  twice,  thrice,  in  some  cases  five  or 
six  times  a  year.  The  consistory  examined  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  and  they  were  ordained  by  the  pastor 
or  pastors,  with  the  laying  on  of  hands.®^ 

The  Frisians  did  not  examine,  but  simply  ordained 
after  hearing  the  confession  of  faith  of  the  candidate 
for  the  ministry.  Most  of  the  Coarse  Doopsgezinden  left 
marriage  to  the  State  and  had  no  ecclesiastical  cere- 
mony."^ They  had  no  burial  services  in  their  churches. 
Only  in  the  case  of  a  pastor,  a  memorial  sermon  was 
preached  in  his  honor,  some  weeks  later.®*  Every  pastor 
was  obliged  at  least  once  a  year  to  make  a  true  pastoral 
visit  in  every  family  of  the  church  {Huish ezo eking) y  3. 
custom  probably  derived  from  the  State  Church,  where  it 
still  prevails,  as  well  as  among  all  Reformed  Churches 
of  Dutch  origin. 

The  churches  held  annual  meetings,  but  these  so-called 
"  synods  "  were  mere  conventions  and  were  not  judica- 
tories in  any  sense.  They  had  only  advisory  power  and 
could  not  enforce  anything  on  which  they  resolved.*^  But' 
in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Doopsgezin- 
den occupied  a  considerable  position  in  the  church  life  of 
Holland.    Well  might  Rues  say :  ®® 

The  Doopsgezinden  in  the  Netherlands  are  an  imposing  de- 
nomination of  Christians  and,  yes  we  may  say,  of  the  Protestant 

•*  Idem,  139  p.  «*  Idem,  157. 

•^Idem,  148.  8^  Idem,  172. 

«  Idem,  152.  ««  Idem,  183. 
Q 


242  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Church.  In  the  domain  of  the  United  Netherlands,  I  have 
counted  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  churches,  taking  the  two 
powerful  divisions  and  the  minor  sects  together.  And  they  had 
among  them  more  than  four  hundred  pastors. 

In  the  province  of  Holland  he  found  seventy-seven,  in 
Vriesland,  sixty-one  churches.  But  even  then  they  were 
dying.  Their  internal  divisions  and  their  growing  libei^al- 
ism  were  sapping  their  strength.  And  their  lack  of  real 
organization  made  them  an  easy  prey  for  every  invading 
force.  Then  as  now,  young  people  went  to  the  fashion- 
able rather  than  to  the  despised  church.  And  thus  the 
defections  were  more  numerous  as  their  strictness  of  life 
and  morals  decreased.    Rues  tells  us  they  were  ^^ 

counted  among  the  wealthiest  in  the  country.  .  .  If  they  had  been 
compelled  to  leave  the  land,  the  wealth  and  commerce  of  this 
country  would  receive  a  very  serious  check.  .  .  They  love  the 
show  of  vanity  of  this  world  as  much  as  any  people  ever  could 
do,  and  they  are  able  to  enforce  whatever  want  with  their 
money. 

Not  an  imposing  picture.  And  Rues  was  an  observant,  but 
wholly  objective  witness. 

«Idem,  184. 


VI 

LATER  HISTORY 

"  It  is  a  long  lane  that  has  no  turning ; "  it  is  a  longer 
one  that  has  no  end. 

Have  I  succeded  in  arousing  your  interest  in  this 
strange  by-product  of  the  Reformation?  The  ideas  pre- 
vailing concerning  it  hitherto  have  been  so  vague;  our 
best  encyclopedias  depend  for  their  scant  information, 
not  on  original  study  of  the  remaining  literature  of  the 
Anabaptists,  but  on  what  others  have  said  about  them. 
And  since  the  sources  until  recently  were  so  widely  scat- 
tered, so  hopelessly  inaccessible,  and  withal  so  few,  do 
we  wonder  that  our  information  should  be  cloudy  and 
superficial  ? 

We  are  informed  by  the  authors  of  the  Bibliotheca 
that  their  aim  in  collecting  and  publishing  these  priceless 
documents  of  antiquity  was  twofold:  first,  their  preser- 
vation; and  secondly,  that  they  might  blaze  out  a  way 
along  which  the  historian  may  walk  in  his  search  for  in- 
formation concerning  the  Anabaptist  development,  in  the 
age  of  the  Reformation  and  in  subsequent  times.^  We 
are  now  ready  to  study  these  strange  people  in  the 
Lowlands,  in  the  later  periods  of  their  history,  and  to 
see  how  their  past  has  continually  dominated  various 
issues  in  their  history  as  they  presented  themselves. 

A'  child  is  born  generations  before  it  sees  the  light  of 
day,  for  the  law  of  heredity  asserts  itself  in  its  life ;  and 
the  same  is  true  in  the  life  of  the  church  as  an  organism. 

1  B,  R.  N,,  I,  Intr, 

243 


244  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

1.  Strength  of  the  Mennonites  in  the  Seventeenth  and 
Eighteenth  Centuries 

During  the  seventeenth  century  it  became  evident  that 
men  of  considerable  talent  were  to  be  found  among 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  Mennonites.  And  they  were  not 
confined  to  one  learned  profession  or  to  one  social 
stratum.  There  were  physicians  of  more  than  local  repu- 
tation: men  like  A.  J.  Roscius,  doctor  of  medicine  and 
preacher  at  Hoorn;  the  celebrated  Bidloo  brothers,  one 
of  whom  was  body-physician  to  Peter  the  Great,  Czar  of 
Russia,  and  the  other  similarly  employed  at  the  court 
of  Prince  William  III  of  the  Netherlands.  Another  of 
these  famous  Mennonite  doctors  was  Galenus  de  Haan, 
whom  we  have  met  before,  who  was  equally  celebrated  as 
preacher  and  practitioner  of  medicine  at  Amsterdam ;  and 
especially  A.  C.  Van  Dale,  whose  works  on  the  science  of 
healing  made  him  a  European  celebrity. 

Among  the  men  of  letters  I  mention  J.  P.  Schabalje, 
preacher  at  Alkmaar,  renowned  as  scholar  and  poet.  So 
far  as  is  known,  he  was  the  first  to  write  a  "  Life  of 
Christ." 

We  find  poets  among  them  like  J.  A.  van  der  Goes, 
celebrated  by  his  Ystroom,  and  Karel  van  Mander,  trans- 
lator of  Virgil  and  of  the  Iliad. 

In  the  world  of  art  they  boasted  a  Mierevelt,  especially 
Ruysdael,  the  greatest  of  Dutch  landscape-painters,  and 
greatest  of  all  perhaps,  Rembrandt.  For  science  they 
could  claim  J.  A.  Leeghwater,  who  drew  the  plans  for 
the  reclamation  of  Haarlem  lake,  a  marvelous  engineering 
problem ;  and  J.  van  der  Heyden,  who  first  undertook  the 
illumination  of  the  streets  of  Amsterdam,  and  who  was 
the  inventor  of  the  prototype  of  the  modern  fire-engine. 

Before  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Frisian 


LATER  HISTORY  245 

Society  was  formed,  which  still  exists,  whose  final  aims 
were  the  promotion  of  unity  and  peace  among  the  Doops- 
gesinden,  the  assistance  of  needy  and  mostly  still  un- 
salaried ministers,  and  kindred  objects.  Forty-seven 
churches  in  Vriesland  joined  this  Society.  The  province 
of  Groningen  followed  this  example,  by  establishing  a 
similar  society,  with  similar  aims,  to  which  was  added  the 
maintenance  of  the  ancient  purity  of  life  and  the  propa- 
gation of  the  ancient  doctrines  of  the  sect.  This  aggre- 
gate embraced  forty  churches.^ 

For  it  was  felt,  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, that  the  entire  brotherhood  would  perish,  if  the 
progress  of  liberalism  in  the  Mennonite  churches  was  not 
checked.  The  Groninger  society  had  sounded  a  note  of 
warning  in  this  direction  and,  in  1701,  Lambertus  Bidloo 
issued  his  vigorous  tract,  "  Unlimited  Tolerance  the  Ruin 
of  the  Doopsgezinden."  ^ 

At  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  eighteenth  century,  voices  were  raised 
everywhere  among  them,  warning  against  the  decay  of 
morals  engendered  by  the  steadily  increasing  prosperity 
of  the  members  of  the  brotherhood  and  by  persistently 
growing  laxness  of  doctrinal  views.  Tolerance  indeed 
loomed  up  as  the  Nemesis  of  Anabaptism.  If  it  be  true 
that  in  the  past  they  had  been  unreasonably  strict  in  the 
administration  of  discipline,  it  now  had  become  little  more 
than  a  somber  memory  of  bygone  days;  they  now  had 
scarcely  any  discipline  at  all. 

The  break  between  the  Sunnists  and  the  Lammists  had 
been  the  inevitable  result  of  a  clash  between  a  growing 
liberalism  and  a  timid  conservatism.  And  this  last  schism, 
for  a  time,  had  steadied  the  vessel  of  the  Doopsgezinden. 

2Brons,  T.  oder  M..  142. 
'  Idem,  142. 


246  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

But  the  Lammists,  or  liberal  party,  exercised  the 
greater  influence  of  the  two  on  the  course  of  future  events. 
And  yet,  till  that  time,  they  had  so  maintained  their 
ancient  purity  of  life  that,  in  1772,  one  who  had  been 
chief  of  police  in  Amsterdam  for  half  a  century,  could 
say  that  *  "  in  all  that  time  he  had  found  not  a  single 
major  accusation,  on  the  criminal  registers  of  the  city, 
against  a  member  of  the  brotherhood."  Fair  testimony 
indeed,  in  the  largest  and  morally  the  lowest  city  in  the 
commonwealth ! 

In  the  new  century,  they  maintained  their  gradually 
acquired  love  of  culture.  Brons  mentions,  among  the 
Mennonite  celebrities  of  the  eighteenth  century,  men  like 
Hermannus  Schyn,  scholar  and  historian,  whom  I  have 
repeatedly  quoted ;  Maetschoen,  a  man  of  similar  caliber ; 
M.  Schagen,  famous  in  Holland  by  his  translation  of  the 
works  of  Josephus  into  the  vernacular ;  J.  Deknatel,  fam- 
ous as  a  preacher  and  author  both  in  Holland  and  Ger- 
many; and  whole  families,  whose  names  live  on  till  this 
day  as  the  Loosjes,  de  Vries,  ten  Gate,  Messchaert,  Hoek- 
stra,  Hulshoff,  van  Hulst,  Anslo,  Van  Gelder,  Huide- 
kooper,  etc.® 

During  the  whole  of  this  century  they  maintained  their 
position  and  strengthened  it  considerably.  If  they  did  not 
grow  in  numbers  to  any  considerable  extent ;  if  they  even 
lost  members  all  the  time  to  the  State  Ghurch  on  account 
of  the  growing  liberalism  and  fraternization  and  inter- 
marriage, especially  among  the  Lammists,  they  certainly 
grew  in  the  popular  esteem,  they  were  honored  by  their 
fellow  citizens,  and  the  time  was  long  past  that  a  Men- 
nonite was  pointed  at  with  scorn,  as  a  sort  of  a  g^psy, 
wandering  among  the  churches  of  the  Reformation. 

*  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  151. 

*  Idem,  152, 


LATER  HISTORY  247 

But  whatever  changes  inwardly  occurred,  in  whatever 
their  past  differed  from  the  present,  amid  all  outward 
changes,  they  stedfastly  maintained  their  ancient  church 
polity.  The  local  church  remained  autonomous.  First 
among  the  Lammists  and  later  among  all  the  Dutch  Men- 
nonite  churches,  women  received  the  same  ecclesiastical 
status  as  men,  that  is  to  say,  they  received  the  full  suf- 
frage. But  whatever  changes  were  made,  all  along  the 
main  line  they  remained  the  true  descendants  of  the 
fathers  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

2.  Effects  of  Arminianism 

The  Arminian  controversy  shook  the  Dutch  Republic 
to  its  very  foundations.  The  Church  had  here  created  the 
State;  the  Dutch  war  for  liberty  was  essentially  a  re- 
ligious war.  It  was  caused  by  the  intolerance  and  bigotry 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  of  the  Spanish  over- 
lords of  the  country. 

When  the  United  Provinces  broke  the  tie  which  bound 
them  to  Spain,  the  new  government,  though  ostensibly 
declaring  for  liberty  of  conscience  and  religious  free- 
dom, made  the  Calvinistic  Reformed  Church  the  State 
Church. 

Its  symbol  was  found  in  the  Belgic  Confession  of  Guido 
de  Bres,  1562,  which  was  adopted  in  a  secret  (mostly 
Walloon)  synod,  at  Antwerp,  in  1566.  But  this  symbol 
was  not  sufficiently  definite  and  explicit  on  certain  points 
of  doctrine,  notably  the  doctrine  of  the  decrees  and  of 
the  freedom  of  the  human  will. 

We  have  seen,  in  a  previous  lecture,  how  Dirck  Vol- 
kerts  Coornhert  was  enamored  of  the  principles  and 
teachings  of  Sebastian  Franck.  No  book  was  more  fre- 
quently quoted  by  the  early  Arminians  than  Coornhert's 
"Art  of  Living  Well"   (JVellevenskunst). 


248  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

All  readers  of  Ypey  and  Dermout  have  sensed  the  sym- 
pathy of  these  authors  with  the  Arminians.  Small  won- 
der therefore  that  they  refuse  to  recognize  Coornhert  as 
one  of  the  protagonists  of  the  movement.^ 

Jacobus  Arminius,  1609,  was  its  father.  Called  upon, 
when  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church  at  Amsterdam, 
to  refute  Infra-lapsarianism  and  Coornhert^s  humanistic 
universalism,  he  was  converted  to  both.  Elected  pro- 
fessor at  Ley  den  in  1603,  he  found  there  a  bitter  opponent 
in  Francis  Gomarus.  From  the  university  the  contro- 
versy spread  all  over  the  Church,  and  thus  two  bitterly 
antagonistic  parties  were  created  in  the  Establishment,  a 
Calvinistic  and  an  Arminian  faction.  The  principles  of 
the  latter  were  laid  down  in  the  so-called  "  Remon- 
strance "  of  1610,  written  by  the  followers  of  Arminius,^ 
from  which  the  party  were  called  Remonstrants.  The 
document  postulated  as  follows :  ( 1 )  God  predestinates  to 
life  all  those  who  believe  in  Christ.  (2)  The  value  of 
Christ's  atonement  is  universal.  (3)  Human  depravity 
is  partial,  not  total.  (4)  The  grace  of  God  is  resistible. 
(5)  Believers  may  be  finally  lost. 

The  celebrated  Synod  of  Dordt,  1618-1619,  which  set- 
tled the  Arminian  controversy,  voiced  Calvinism  in  its  five 
points,  which  diametrically  oppose  the  Remonstrant  doc- 
trine. These  five  points  are  as  follows :  ( 1 )  Election  is 
wholly  unconditional.  (2)  The  value  of  the  atonement  is 
limited  to  the  elect.  (3)  Human  depravity  is  total.  (4) 
Divine  grace  is  irresistible.  (5)  All  true  saints  persevere 
to  the  end. 

A  terrible  controversy  raged,  which  involved  the  whole 
Republic,  in  all  its  social  ranks.  The  nation  resolved  it- 
self into  a  general  debating  society.     Politics  soon  were 

•Y.  en  D.,  Gesch.  der  Ned.  Herv,  Kerk,  II,  Aant.  217. 
'  Idem,  II,  191. 


LATER  HISTORY  249 

mixed  up  with  it.  Johann  of  Oldenbarneveldt,  the  able 
pensionary  of  Holland,  as  well  as  the  States  of  that  prov- 
ince, espoused  the  cause  of  the  Remonstrants  and  stood 
for  the  political  principle  of  decentralization.  Prince 
Maurice  of  Nassau  embraced  the  cause  of  the  estab- 
lished Church,  as  he  was  bound  to  do  by  his  oath,  and  his 
party  stood  for  the  political  principle  of  centralization. 
It  was  the  miniature  prototype  of  our  own  civil  war — 
the  State  or  the  Union,  which?  State  rights  or  Federal 
rights?  The  country  was  brought  to  the  verge  of  ruin, 
and  had  Spain  not  utterly  lost  its  grip,  it  might  have  re- 
gained all  it  had  lost,  in  this  hour  of  disruption.  Olden- 
barneveldt's  death  by  the  sword,  on  a  charge  of  high 
treason.  May  19,  1619,  is  till  this  day  a  matter  of  debate, 
and  the  question  is  still  asked.  Was  he  a  martyr  or  a 
traitor?  Robbed  of  their  great  leader,  the  Arminians 
were  overwhelmed;  they  were  condemned  by  the  Synod 
of  Dordt,  deposed  from  the  ministry,  if  they  were  preach- 
ers, in  which  case  they  were  also  exiled,  their  churches 
were  forbidden  to  open  their  doors  for  worship,  and  the 
whole  Remonstrant  faction  was  utterly  overwhelmed. 

But  Arminianism  was  not  to  be  rooted  out  in  this  way. 
It  survived  and  was  destined  later  on,  in  the  ecclesiastical 
history  of  Holland,  to  lead  to  far  more  radical  theolog- 
ical departures. 

Was  it  possible  for  a  party  like  that  of  the  Mennon- 
ites,  theologically  wedded,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the  doc- 
trine of  free  will  and  to  the  denial  of  original  sin,  to  be 
unmoved  by  the  storm  which  swept  everything  about 
them,  and  which  threatened  to  overthrow  the  Church 
that  had  so  bitterly  oppressed  them  ? 

Hundreds  of  their  members  had  been  converted  to  the 
State  Church  during  the  dark  days  of  their  persecution 
and  bitter  internal  divisions;  and  later  on  again,  in  still 


250  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

larger  numbers  they  had  joined  the  same  Church  during 
the  days  of  their  growing  power  and  worldliness.  And  all 
these  converts  were  potential  Arminians,  before  the  ques- 
tion of  free  will  or  sovereign  grace  was  ever  broached. 
And  when  the  storm  broke,  it  was  hailed  with  undis- 
guised delight  by  all  the  various  branches  of  Dutch  Ana- 
baptism.  The  struggle  could  not  hurt  them ;  and  it  might 
infinitely  benefit  them.  Naturally  therefore  the  Mennon- 
ites  stood  on  the  side  of  the  Remonstrant  party.  But 
there  is  still  another  angle  from  which  the  Arminian 
controversy  was  to  touch  the  Mennonites;  and  that  was 
the  singular  sect  of  the  Collegiants,  a  sort  of  a  by-product 
of  the  Arminian  struggle. 
Says  Doctor  Newman :  * 

Their  modes  of  religious  thought  were  distinctly  anti-Calvin- 
istic.  Socinianism  was  undoubtedly  the  chief  source  of  their 
impulse,  though  they  did  not  dogmatize,  as  did  the  Socinians, 
on  the  person  of  Christ.  .  .  It  is  highly  probable  that  they  were 
influenced  to  a  considerable  extent  by  the  Mennonites,  with  many 
of  whose  views  they  thoroughly  agreed,  and  who  certainly  took 
a  prominent  part  in  the  movement,  after  its  organization. 

Let  US  see  in  how  far  Newman  is  correct.  Who  were 
these  Collegiants  ?  Is  Socinianism  an  affluent  of  the  cur- 
rent, or  its  main  source,  as  Newman  suggests  ? 

As  we  have  seen,  the  Synod  of  Dordt,  1618-1619,  had 
deposed  all  pastors  of  the  Remonstrant  or  Arminian  party, 
exiling  them  and  declaring  their  pulpits  vacant. 

This  was  also  the  case  at  Warmond  and  Oestgeest  near 
Leyden,  whose  ministers  were  in  exile.  At  a  near-by 
village,  Rhynsburg,  a  large  part  of  the  congregation 
sided  with  the  Arminians ;  their  preacher  was  a  Calvinist, 
and  they  would  not  hear  him.    In  each  of  these  three  vil- 

»  "  Hist,  of  Antipedob.,"  322. 


LATER  HISTORY  251 

lages  lived  a  son  of  one  Jacob  van  der  Kodde.  Of  the 
father  we  have  but  very  vague  impressions;  presumably 
he  was  a  man  of  outstanding  personality.  One  of  the 
sons  was  professor  at  Leyden,  the  others  were  in  the 
eldership  of  the  Church,  and  all  of  them  were  Armin- 
ians.  They  resolved  to  hold  meetings  without  a  pastor, 
at  which  each  man  could  speak,  as  the  Spirit  moved  him. 
Gysbert  was  the  first  leader,  his  two  brothers,  Adrian 
and  John,  followed  him  at  the  succeeding  meetings. 

Meanwhile  the  Remonstrant  brotherhood,  with  head- 
quarters at  Antwerp,  sent  out  Hendrick  van  Holten  to 
Warmond,  to  preach  there,  in  defiance  of  the  law.  The 
Vander  Koddes,  once  having  tasted  the  sweets  of  leader- 
ship, refused  to  receive  him  or  to  recognize  his  mission. 
He  went  away,  but  the  indefatigable  committee  at  Ant- 
werp sent  out  another  man  to  Warmond,  who  was  coolly 
informed  by  the  Vander  Koddes  "that  they  needed  no 
minister,  but  were  full  well  able  to  edify  themselves." 
The  preacher  however  continued  his  ministrations  to  those 
who  were  willing  to  attend  them.  Thus  a  schism  took 
place  in  the  churches  at  Warmond,  Oestgeest,  and  Rhyns- 
burg;  the  loyal  party  united  and  formed  a  church,  which 
was  still  in  existence  when  Ypey  and  Dermout  wrote 
their  history,  and  may  yet  be.  The  others,  followers  of 
the  Vander  Kodde  brothers,  met  at  Rhynsburg  and  re- 
jecting the  regular  ministry  as  an  unbiblical  institution, 
edified  themselves  by  "  prophesying."  They  were  called 
Collegiants  from  their  collegia  or  stated  meetings  for 
mutual  Bible  study,  and  Rhynsburgers  from  the  place 
where  they  originally  met.  They  considered  all  ministers, 
Calvinists  and  Arminians  alike,  as  "  servants  of  the  dead 
letter."  They  were  extremely  self-centered;  especially 
the  Vander  Kodde  brothers  strike  a  reader  of  Ypey  and 
Dermout   and   of   Rues,   who   has   studied   them   more 


252  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

minutely  than  any  other  man,  as  men  in  whom  the  ego 
preponderates.® 

Rhynsburg  became  and  remained  the  center  of  the  new 
sect.  There  they  began  to  celebrate  communion  without 
an  ordained  minister;  there  also,  through  Geesteranus, 
they  adopted  baptism  by  immersion  from  the  Polish  So- 
cinians.  As  they  recognized  no  ordained  ministry,  their 
baptism  ever  remained  an  irregular  one.  From  Rhyns- 
burg they  branched  out  to  other  places,  about  1646. 

At  one  time  they  had  collegia  at  Amsterdam,  Rotter- 
dam, Leyden,  Haarlem,  Alkmaar,  Hoorn,  Enkhuizen, 
Leeuwarden,  and  Groningen.  They  were  strong  in  the 
first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  began  to  dwindle 
in  strength  in  the  second  half,  and  when  Ypey  and  Der- 
mout  wrote  their  history,  in  1822,  they  could  say,^** 
"  Nowadays  they  cannot  be  found  anywhere  any  more." 
They  were  therefore  a  Jonah's  gourd,  flourishing  for  a 
little  while.  Their  doctrine  was  largely  a  derived  faith. 
The  greater  part  was  pure  Arminianism.  They  discarded 
all  confessions  of  faith,  a  trained  and  ordained  ministry, 
and  infant  baptism.  All  this  they  evidently  borrowed 
from  the  Anabaptists.  Immersion  was  borrowed  from 
the  Polish  Socinians  or  Unitarians.  With  the  Anabaptists 
they  rejected  the  ofiice  of  the  magistrate,  the  use  of  the 
oath  and  of  arms.  Their  only  article  of  faith  was  be- 
lief in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  to  be  explained  by  each  in- 
dividual believer  as  he  saw  the  light.  Small  wonder 
that  numbers  of  men,  tired  of  the  endless  dogmatic  de- 
bates of  the  Arminian  struggle,  sought  peace  and  refuge 
in  this  harbor  of  dogmatic  indiflFerentism. 

But  their  contact  with  the  Mennonites  left  its  mark 


•  Y.  en  D.,  Gesch.  der  Herv.  Kerk.,  II,  285  pp.  Rues,  Appendix,  Tegenw, 
Staet. 

"Idem,  289. 


LATER  HISTORY  253 

on  the  latter.  They  were  less  a  special  sect  or  congrega- 
tion than  a  gathering  of  men  who  endeavored,  without 
any  binding  formula  of  belief,  to  find  the  true  light  by 
debating  on  the  meaning  of  the  Scriptures  from  all  con- 
ceivable points  of  view.  For  a  time,  in  these  dogmatic 
days,  this  must  have  been  very  refreshing.  When  the 
novelty  wore  off,  the  aggregation  melted  away.  But  in  a 
way  they  presented  splendid  opportunities  for  young  men 
who  wanted  to  learn  something  about  the  Scriptures. 
Thus  scores  of  Mennonite  ministers  and  candidates  for 
the  ministry  came  to  these  meetings  and  were  there  in- 
fluenced far  more  deeply  than  they  knew.  There  Galenus 
de  Haan  of  Amsterdam  obtained  his  peculiar  Socinian 
and  liberalistic  views.  The  Waterlandians,  among  the 
Dutch  Mennonites,  specially  sought  this  contact,  and  thus 
the  way  was  prepared  for  &n  ever-widening  doctrinal 
schism  between  the  Mennonites  and  the  State  Church  of 
Holland ;  a  condition  of  affairs  which  was  finally  destined 
to  be  reversed  when  the  State  Church  had  come  over  to 
their  position  in  the  growth  of  liberalism  and  ultimate 
modernism.^^ 

But  in  the  seventeenth  century  this  contact  and  in- 
timacy between  the  Mennonites,  the  Remonstrants,  the 
Collegiants,  and  other  groups  considered  heretical  by  the 
State  Church,  had  the  inevitable  result  of  focusing  once 
more  the  hatred  of  their  enemies  upon  them. 

Thus  the  Synod  of  1651  prayed  for  the  enforcement 
of  all  edicts  against  heretical  sects  and  specifically 
begged ^2  the  States  General  "to  prevent  the  building 
of  Mennonite  meeting-places  [Ermanungshduser,  Brons 
calls  them],  and  to  command  that  those  newly  built  be 
torn  down  again  or  at  least  closed,  in  order  that  the 

"Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  134,  135. 
^  Brons.  T.  oder  M.,  137. 


254  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

spread  of  their  heresies  may  be  hindered."  And  it  was 
due  only  to  the  greater  Hberality  of  the  poHticians  that 
the  decree  of  the  churchmen  was  not  made  the  law  of  the 
State. 

Vriesland  was  fairly  aflame  with  opposition  to  the 
Mennonites.  And  there  the  government  was  more  than 
willing  to  cooperate.  The  Frisian  Stadholder,  Henry 
Casimir  II,  issued  a  placard  in  1687  in  which  he  said:^' 

Since  the  devil,  the  sworn  enemy  of  God,  daily  tries  to  sow 
new  errors,  for  which  he  uses  the  Socinians,  the  Quakers,  and 
the  Dompelaars  (dippers  or  Collegiants),  who  through  their  vain 
phantasies  lead  the  people  of  God  astray ;  and  since  we  know  that 
such  people  are  in  this  province  and  are  to  be  found  among  the 
Mennonites,  in  order  that  they  may  be  able  the  more  surely 
to  sow  their  blasphemous  seed  among  simple  citizens,  to  the 
very  great  offense  of  many  pious  souls  and  to  the  denial  of  the 
Holy  Trinity; 

Therefore  we  renew  the  placards  of  1662  and  authorize  all 
preachers  to  point  out  all  suspects  of  these  errors  to  the  magis- 
trates and  to  examine  them  in  their  presence,  and  whoever 
points  out  such  an  one  shall  receive  a  premium  of  twenty-five 
gold  pieces  (Ryders).  We  also  forbid  the  printing  and  sale 
of  their  heretical  writings  and  shameful  songs. 

The  State  Church  preachers  the  sleuthhounds  of  heresy? 
A  kind  of  Roma  rediviva?  Most  assuredly.  Make  the 
cook  mistress,  and  she  will  be  harder  on  the  coming  cooks 
than  ever  her  mistress  was  before  her.  That  is  human 
nature. 

For  the  time  being,  especially  in  the  North,  the  pro- 
vision of  the  Union  of  Utrecht  anent  liberty  of  conscience 
seemed  forgotten.  But  the  Mennonites  had  themselves 
prepared  the  gallows,  on  which  they  were  hung.  They 
were  ever  their  own  greatest  enemies. 

The  whole  schism  between  the  Waterlandians  and  the 

^^Brons,  T.  oder  M„  137,  138, 


LATER  HISTORY  255 

others,  between  the  Lammists  and  the  Sunnists,  was  sim- 
ply due  to  their  eager  contact  with  the  Collegiants. 

Mrs.  Brons  splendidly  depicts  the  situation,  when  she 
says : ^* 

A  communion  which  neither  had  nor  would  have  a  binding 
symbol  of  faith,  but  which  founded  itself  alone  on  the  Holy 
Scriptures;  a  communion  which  without  the  least  concern  came 
in  close  contact  with  several  reformed  sects  like  the  Quakers, 
the  Collegiants,  the  Labadists,  and  the  Moravians;  which,  in  its 
liberty,  did  not  hesitate  to  test  the  views  of  others  and  to 
acknowledge  them  as  right,  yea  to  adopt  them  as  her  own 
when  she  found  them  in  accord  with  the  Gospels,  according  to 
the  word  of  the  apostle,  "  Prove  all  things,  hold  fast  to  that 
which  is  good,"  such  a  communion  must  be  viewed  with  sus- 
picion by  the  Reformed  Church. 

That  was  the  inevitable ;  and  the  inevitable,  as  always, 
happened.  The  Church  of  the  Netherlands  had  just 
passed  through  a  struggle  which  had  shaken  it  from  cen- 
ter to  circumference.  The  leaders  were  not  unaware  that 
the  Arminians  had  found  at  least  one  of  the  great  sources 
of  their  supply  in  the  thousands  of  Mennonites  who  had 
joined  the  Church  during  the  previous  century  and  were 
continuing  to  join  her,  in  the  present  century,  men  and 
women  of  exemplary  lives,  but  doctrinally  wholly  foot- 
free,  untrained,  and  with  fundamental,  hereditary  ideas, 
wholly  in  line  with  the  Remonstrant  teachings.  Does  any 
one  wonder  that  these  strict  churchmen  of  Holland  were 
afraid  of  the  Mennonites  in  the  seventeenth  century? 
And  later  events  proved  the  essential  oneness  of  the  Men- 
nonites in  Holland  with  the  Remonstrants.  In  all  their 
later  history  they  drew  one  line.  Educationally  they 
cooperated,  and  the  theological  views  of  the  Arminian 
party  were  wholly  absorbed  by  the  Doopsgezinden  or 

"Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  155. 


256  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Mennonites.  As  time  went  on,  they  grew  less  distinctively 
Anabaptist  in  their  views  and  more  distinctly  Arminian. 

3.  Influence  of  Socinianism 

Between  the  Socinians  and  the  Doopsgezinden  or  Men- 
nonites there  existed  a  still  more  obvious  affinity  than  be- 
tween them  and  the  Arminians;  for  the  simple  reason 
that  the  Socinians  expressed,  although  in  different  terms, 
the  very  same  ideas  which  had  been  taught  by  their  own 
great  teachers  in  the  sixteenth  century.  In  fact,  as  has 
been  pointed  out  before,  the  Socinians  of  the  sixteenth 
century  claimed  Adam  Pastor  as  the  first  man  who  had 
clearly  voiced  their  doctrines  in  the  Netherlands  a  cen- 
tury before. 

Mosheim  identifies  the  early  Socinians  in  Poland  with 
the  Anabaptists  and  said  that  they  were  usually  called 
by  that  name  among  the  Poles,^** 

because  they  admitted  none  to  baptism,  in  their  assemblies,  but 
adults  and  were  accustomed  to  rebaptize  such  as  came  to  them 
from  other  communions. 

The  preface  of  the  Racovian  catechism  conveys  the  same 
idea.  And  this  testimony  is  confirmed  by  the  author  of 
"  The  Epistle  of  the  Life  of  Andreas  Wissowitius,"  sub- 
joined to  Sand's  Bibliotheca.  He  says  that  his  sect  bore 
the  name  of  Arius  and  of  the  Anabaptists,  but  that  the 
other  Christians  in  Poland  were  all  promiscuously  called 
Chrsescians  from  Chrzest,  which  denotes  baptism.^®  If 
this  testimony  stands,  the  distinction  between  the  Ana- 
baptists or  Wederdoopers  and  the  Baptists  or  Doopsgezin- 
den  was  far  more  general  and  far  more  deep-seated  than 
is  generally  suppposed. 

The  Racovian  catechism  of  1574  clearly  shows  the  af- 

«  "  Inst,  of  Eccl.  Hist.,"  Ill,  267.  "  Idem,  225. 


LATER  HISTORY  257 

finity  between  the  Anabaptists  and  the  Socinians,  when 
it  forbids  the  taking  of  an  oath  and  the  repelHng  of 
assaults  and  injuries,  and  also  in  its  doctrine  of  excom- 
munication. Here  they  follow  the  original  Mennonite 
line  of  procedure:  first  admonition;  then  expulsion;  and 
if  there  be  no  betterment,  after  this,  eternal  damnation. 
In  distinction  from  the  Anabaptists  they  administered 
baptism  by  immersion — in  aquam  immersio  et  emersio. 

As  we  have  seen,  immersion  continued  to  be  in  vogue  in 
Eastern  Europe  long  after  its  abandonment  in  the  West, 
on  account  of  the  propinquity  of  the  Greek  Church,  which 
never  abandoned  it.  And  thus  from  Poland  immersion 
came  again  to  the  Netherlands,  through  the  channel  of 
the  Collegiant  movement,  and  through  them  it  came  to 
that  group  of  English  Baptists  which  sent  out  Richard 
Blunt  to  obtain  true  baptism  in  the  line  of  apostolic  suc- 
cession. Fortunately  for  the  great  Baptist  denomination, 
the  Richard  Blunt  claim  has  been  long  since  abandoned 
by  nearly  all. 

The  Socinians  attached  little  value  to  the  sacraments; 
to  them  they  were  m,ere  habits,  good  enough  in  a  way, 
but  of  little  real  value.  And  so  they  attached  no  mean- 
ing to  immersion,  but  simply  retained  it  as  a  sacramental 
habit  of  the  fathers. 

It  was  different  with  the  Baptist  fathers  in  England, 
in  1641.  With  them  immersion  was  a  rediscovery,  a  great 
principle,  the  corner-stone  of  their  whole  ecclesiastical 
building.  Between  the  Rhynsburgers  or  CoUeg^ants  and 
their  baptism  and  that  of  the  Baptists  in  England,  in  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  there  is  therefore  not 
the  slightest  affinity. 

The  conditions  described  above  prevailed  during  the 
leadership  of  Laelius  Socinus,  the  uncle.  Things  changed 
when  his  nephew,  Faustus  Socinus,  took  over  the  reins. 

R 


258  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Less  erudite  than  his  uncle,  but  far  more  practical  and 
a  better  organizer,  he  was  the  true  father  of  Socinianism. 
Absolute  rationalism  now  began  to  pervade  the  move- 
ment.    Faustus  believed  only  what  he  could  understand. 

The  leaven  of  Anabaptism,  however,  is  discernible  in 
the  new  Racovian  catechism,  as  well  as  in  the  old.  The 
new  doctrinal  standpoint  still  opposes  resistance  to  evil, 
vengeance,  arms-bearing,  the  oath,  the  infliction  of  capital 
punishment,  luxurious  living,  etc.^^ 

Faustus  Socinus  strangely  reminds  us,  in  all  his  teach- 
ing, of  Adam  Pastor.  The  appearance  of  the  new  doc- 
trine was  hailed  with  undisguised  approval  by  the  Doops- 
gezinden.  The  Waterlandians,  as  always,  are  at  the  front 
again,  the  liberals  among  the  Dutch  Anabaptists,  who 
more  than  any  other  faction  among  them  have  placed 
their  cachet  on  all  their  later  history. 

Nay,  I  will  go  a  step  further.  It  is  my  deepest  con- 
viction that  from  1664,  the  year  of  the  last  great  schism 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Mennonites,  the  history  of  the  entire 
brotherhood  in  the  Netherlands  is  really  that  of  the 
Waterlandians.  Galenus  Abrahams  de  Haan  occupies  in 
their  later  history  somewhat  the  same  position  which 
Menno  Simons  had  held  in  their  earlier  development. 
Menno  has  become  a  mere  name,  a  sort  of  enshrined  saint 
among  them,  but  few  indeed  are  the  Doopsgezinden  in 
Holland  today  who  would  travel  far  along  the  theological 
path  blazed  out  by  Menno.  The  great  mass  of  them 
recognize  in  de  Haan  the  man  who  marched  on  to 
broader  fields  and  roomier  ideas.  He  was  the  protagonist 
of  the  new  spirit  among  them. 

And  one  of  the  accusations  against  him,  proved  from 
his  own  celebrated  nineteen  articles,  was  that  he  had 
traveled  more  than  a  day's  journey  with  the  Socinians. 

"  "  Inst,  of  Eccl.  Hist.,"  Ill,  272. 


LATER  HISTORY  259 

For  the  next  half  century,  the  tendency  toward  So- 
cinianism  among  the  brotherhood  grew  apace,  till  in  the 
eighteenth  century  the  Doopsgezinden  came  once  more  to 
death-grapples  with  the  Reformed  Church,  the  last  great 
struggle  of  their  history  in  the  Netherlands. 

In  the  first  two  decades  of  the  century  it  was  like  a 
smoldering  fire,  seeking  for  a  vent-hole  to  enable  it  to 
break  out  into  lurid  flames.  Everywhere  rumors  of  tre- 
mendous Socinian  propaganda  were  in  the  air,  in  which 
the  Doopsgezinden  especially  figured. 

The  thing  came  to  a  crisis  in  the  Synod  of  1722,  when 
a  demand  was  made  on  the  Mennonites  to  sign  the  fol- 
lowing articles :  ^® 

1.  That  there  are  three  divine  persons  in  the  divine  essence, 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost;  and  that  these  three  different 
persons  are  together  the  only  eternal  and  true  God. 

2.  That  Christ  is  true  and  only  God  with  the  Father,  pos- 
sessed of  all  the  divine  attributes  which  belong  to  the  divine 
essence,  absolutely  and  from  all  eternity;  (and  that  he  is  not 
God,  made  such  by  the  Father.) 

3.  That  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  true  person,  distinct  from  the 
Father,  and  shares  equally  with  the  Father  and  the  ^on  in  the 
same  divine  essence. 

4.  That  Christ,  being  God  from  eternity,  has  become  man  in 
the  fulness  of  time  and,  as  our  intercessor,  has  borne  the  punish- 
ment of  our  sins  and  thus  has  satisfied  the  divine  justice,  in  order 
that  we,  by  virtue  of  his  merits,  might  be  received  in  mercy 
by  God. 

The  Synod  seemed  so  sure  of  its  position  and  of  suc- 
cess that  the  Mennonites  were  stupified  with  fear  lest 
the  government  be  behind  the  matter.  And  the  power  of 
the  government  was  still  absolute  in  religious  matters  in 
the  eighteenth  century.    The  theoretic  constitutional  prin- 

"  Rues,  Tegenw,  Staet.,  193. 


260  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

ciple  of  liberty  of  conscience  could  easily  be  set  aside,  as 
it  had  been,  to  some  extent,  in  the  Arminian  controversy, 
on  the  plea  that  the  safety  of  the  commonwealth  was 
involved. 

The  Mennonite's  conscience  forbade  him  to  sign,  for 
by  so  doing  he  would  sign  away  his  historic  faith.  Deep 
gloom  pervaded  the  entire  brotherhood.  Everywhere 
Mennonite  pastors  laid  down  their  office,  and  their  flocks 
were  without  shepherds.  Through  the  united  efforts  of 
the  entire  body,  in  the  different  provinces,  the  ordinance 
was  finally  suspended.  It  was  proved  conclusively  that 
their  influence  as  citizens  had  grown  by  leaps  and  bounds, 
and  that  they  were  able,  to  some  extent  at  least,  to  curb 
the  power  of  the  arrogant  churchmen.  The  magistrates 
were,  however,  ordered  to  keep  an  eye  on  those  pastors 
who  had  openly  taught  Socinian  doctrines,  but  to  leave 
the  rest  in  peace.  This  was  an  evident  subterfuge,  since 
every  one  knew  perfectly  well  that  the  Anabaptist  doc- 
trines, from  the  very  beginning,  had  been  in  direct  an- 
tagonism to  the  four  points  proposed  by  the  Synod.^^ 

Thus  some  years  elapsed,  when  in  1738,  the  smoldering 
fire  broke  out  anew  in  Vriesland;  when  Wybe  Pieters, 
Pieke  Tjommes,  and  Wytze  Jeens,  Mennonite  pastors  at 
Heerenveen,  were  accused  by  the  Classis  of  Zevenwoude, 
of  the  State  Church,  of  openly  holding  and  preaching 
Socinian  doctrines. 

Called  before  the  magistrates,  the  last  two  of  these 
pastors  refused  to  say  what  they  believed  of  the  four 
articles,  which  had  figured  in  the  matter  years  ago,  and 
were  at  once  deposed  from  their  ministry.  Thus  Jeens 
and  Tjommes  were  eliminated  from  the  problem. 

Pieters  gained  his  case  by  indirection.  He  claimed  that 
personally  he  could  subscribe  the  articles,  but  that,  by  so 

'•Idenii  195;  Y,  en  P.,  Gesch,  der  Herv.  Kerk,  III,  Aant.,  211. 


LATER  HISTORY  261 

doing,  he  would  lose  his  pastorate.  He  would  thus  in- 
flict on  himself  the  same  punishment  which  the  magis- 
trates had  inflicted  on  his  brethren.  He  claimed,  there- 
fore, inability  openly  to  express  his  views  about  the  four 
points.  The  high  and  mighty  lords  had  apparently  never 
viewed  the  matter  from  this  unique  standpoint,  and  they 
permitted  him  to  continue  his  ministry. 

The  Church  now  appealed  to  the  States  of  Vriesland 
to  settle  this  matter,  once  for  all,  and  a  struggle  ensued, 
which  ultimately  involved  the  whole  country  and  all  the 
universities  of  the  country. 

This  struggle  created  a  literature,  which  is  voluminous 
in  itself. 

In  1740,  the  Doopsgesinden  presented  a  so-called  "  De- 
duction," entitled  "  The  right  of  religious  liberty,  religion, 
and  conscience,  set  forth  in  a  request,  with  added  deduc- 
tions, in  the  name  of  the  Doopsgesinden  in  Vriesland,  de- 
livered to  the  Noble,  Puissant  Lords,  States  of  the  afore- 
said province,  met  in  Diet  at  Leeuwarden,  1740.'*  In  this 
document  they  claimed  that  their  constitutional  rights, 
under  the  laws  of  the  land,  were  infringed. 

The  worm  had  turned  at  last,  and  the  storm  broke  out 
afresh,  while  the  wind  blew  from  every  quarter. 

Writings  for  and  against  the  Doopsgesinden  and  their 
complaint  appeared  in  swift  succession,  till  they  formed 
a  fair-sized  library  by  themselves.  Prof.  Daniel  Gerdes 
of  Groningen  and  Prof.  Antony  Driessen  of  the  same  uni- 
versity ;  Prof.  Jan  van  den  Honert  of  Leyden ;  Prof.  Her- 
manns Vennema  of  Franeker — all  of  these  took  part  in 
the  literary  controversy,  which  involved  all  the  theological 
faculties  in  the  land,  viz.,  those  of  Groningen,  Franeker, 
Harderwyk,  Utrecht,  and  Leyden.  The  entire  State 
Church  was  in  commotion  from  North  to  South  and  from 
East  to  West. 


262  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

The  storm-center  was  a  book  containing  five  sermons, 
published  by  a  young  Mennonite  preacher  at  Harlingen, 
John  Simons  Stinstra.  It  bore  the  title  "  Nature  and 
Condition  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ ;  its  Subjects,  Church, 
and  Religion,  sketched  in  five  sermons."  ^^  It  was  issued 
at  Harlingen  in  1741.  The  treatment  of  this  book  and 
incidentally  of  the  whole  question,  by  Professor  Vennema 
of  Franeker,  did  much  to  clear  the  atmosphere.  He 
clearly  proved  that  the  accusations  of  the  opponents  could 
not  be  proved  from  the  contents  of  this  book,  and  closed 
his  discussion  of  the  subject  with  a  quotation  from  the 
celebrated  Witsius,  In  necessariis  unitas,  in  non  nece»- 
sariis  lihertas,  in  omnibus  prudentia  et  caritas. 

On  January  13,  1742,  the  deputies  of  the  States  of 
Vriesland  nevertheless  deposed  Stinstra  from  the  ministry 
and  forbade  the  further  publication  and  sale  of  the  book. 
Stinstra  replied  with  an  immediate  appeal  to  the  full 
States,  when  they  met,  the  same  year,  in  their  usual  great 
session. 

At  this  meeting  a  committee  of  Mennonites  also  ap- 
peared to  pray  for  the  maintenance  of  their  ancient 
liberties  and  for  the  reinstatement  of  Stinstra.  Both 
papers  were  coolly  laid  on  the  table.^^  Vriesland  was 
still  the  main  stronghold  of  opposition  to  the  brotherhood. 

The  matter  was  never  fully  settled;  the  middle  of  the 
century  still  saw  it  drag  its  weary  length  along. 

Stinstra  could  not  preach,  but  he  could  write,  and  he 
wrote  and  published  one  sermon  a  month ;  and  these 
sermons  did  more  to  abate  the  trouble  than  all  the  learned 
discussions  of  the  past.  By  1757  the  bitter  antagonism 
had  sufficiently  abated  to  enable  Stinstra  to  resume  his 
pastorate  at  Harlingen  unhindered,  and  there  he  remained 

*•  Rues,  Tegenw.  Staet.,  212. 
^  Idem,  243. 


LATER  HISTORY  263 

till  his  death  in  1800.  And  this  hounded  preacher  of  1742 
was  asked  by  the  same  body  which  had  deposed  him  to 
come  to  Leeu warden,  in  1757,  to  preach  for  the  mellowed 
fathers  every  Sunday,  as  long  as  the  States  were  in 
session,  and  that — wonder  of  wonders — in  the  Mennonite 
church.^2    Strange  conversion! 

When  toward  the  close  of  the  century  the  embittered 
Reformed  ministers  tried  once  more  to  rejuvenate  the 
dead  spirit  of  persecution  and  renewed  the  four  old 
articles,  to  which  seven  new  ones  of  similar  import  were 
added,  they  found  the  government* unwilling  to  lift  a  hand. 
Religious  liberty  by  this  time  had  become  more  than  a 
dead  letter,  and  the  churchmen  knew  full  well  that  with- 
out the  government  no  persecution  was  possible. 

The  spirit  of  intolerance  was  dead  and  was  to  be  re- 
vived only  once  more  when,  in  1834,  the  believers  in  the 
old  orthodox  faith  in  the  State  Church,  tired  of  the 
liberalism  which  had  overwhelmed  the  whole  Church  of 
the  fathers,  and  hungering  for  the  gospel,  which  the 
Church  no  longer  offered  them,  separated  from  her  to 
establish  the  Free  Church  or  Christian  Reformed  Church 
of  the  Netherlands. 

As  the  close  of  the  century  drew  near,  and  the  sense 
of  approaching  catastrophe  and  universal  cataclysm  in 
every  conceivable  direction  gripped  the  souls  of  men, 
there  was  little  time  to  think  of  dogmatic  niceties  or  of 
persecutions.  The  foundations  of  Church  and  State  alike 
were  rocking,  and  all  faith  apparently  was  in  a  state  of 
flux. 

The  Mennonites,  like  all  the  other  Churches,  great  and 
small,  in  Holland  as  elsewhere  in  Europe,  were  carried 
down  the  swift  current  which  disembogued  in  the  great 
revolution. 

^Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  162. 


264  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

4.  Growing  Importance  of  the  Mennonites 

The  storm  of  the  eighteenth  century  had  passed  away 
and  had  become  a  memory.  It  left  the  Mennonites  prac- 
tically where  they  had  been  before.  There  had  always 
been  a  bitter  jealousy  between  the  Church  and  the  State 
in  Holland.  The  politicians  resented  the  attitude  of  the 
churchmen,  whose  dream  of  superiority  seemed  to  have 
been  realized  in  the  days  of  the  Arminian  controversy 
through  the  strong  support  of  Prince  Maurice  of  Nassau. 
The  disturbed  equilibrium  had  been  restored  again,  but 
after  all,  a  bitter  taste  was  left  in  the  mouths  of  the  men 
who  were  the  pilots  of  the  vessel  of  State.  Its  life  had 
been  a  strenuous  one  almost  from  the  beginning,  for  the 
Dutch  Republic  never  was  very  popular  with  its  neigh- 
bors, and  danger  threatened  now  from  England,  then 
from  France. 

And  the  State  needed  money  and  a  great  deal  of  it  and, 
strange  to  say,  the  Doopsgezinden  had  it.  Long  since  they 
had  ceased  to  believe  that  no  member  of  the  brotherhood 
could  accept  an  office  under  the  government ;  and  both  in 
Vriesland  and  in  the  other  provinces  the  government  had 
begun  to  pick  out  Mennonites  for  positions  of  great 
trust.23 

The  antagonism  of  the  church  party  was  broken  on 
this  rock  of  official  approval,  and  the  persecution  of  the 
Doopsgezinden  had  competely  terminated.  Moreover,  the 
prevailing  spirit  of  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  with  its  ever-growing  liberalism,  interdicted  all 
indications  of  religious  intolerance. 

Finally,  by  the  change  of  the  constitution,  in  1795,  the 
State  Church  was  abolished,  and  all  Christian  confessions 
or  beliefs  were  given  equal  rights  under  the  law.    Mem- 

^  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  162, 


LATER  HISTORY  265 

bership  in  the  State  Church  was  no  longer  needed  for 
the  fullest  exercise  of  the  rights  of  citizenship.  The 
Mennonites  were  no  longer  compelled  to  feel  the  yoke  of 
mere  toleration;  they  stood  on  the  same  line  with  other 
men.  They  had  always  stood  for  absolute  religious 
liberty,  always  for  absolute  separation  between  Church 
and  State.  Their  martyrs  had  died  for  these  principles, 
their  teachers  had  ceaselessly  inculcated  them.  Is  Mrs. 
Brons  far  wrong  when  she  says,^*  "  They  dared  to  assert 
that,  with  the  help  of  the  gospel,  they  had  always  been 
the  pioneers  of  religious  liberty  "  ?  It  is  undeniable  that 
the  Doopsgesinden  occupied  a  position  of  growing  impor- 
tance, in  the  Republic,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. They  were  still  wholly  loyal  to  the  existing  gov- 
ernment, and  as  yet,  as  a  body,  as  averse  as  ever  to  the 
revolutionary  methods  of  the  Miinster  fanatics. 

But  bitter  days  now  lay  before  the  Republic.  The  ship, 
which  for  three  centuries  had  weathered  every  gale  and 
steered  clear  of  all  dangerous  coasts,  was  now  approach- 
ing the  breakers.  The  cruel  days  of  the  revolution  and  of 
complete  God-forgetfulness  and  of  unutterable  humilia- 
tion lay  before  her.  And  if  the  testimony  we  have  pre- 
viously cited  be  true,  that  no  criminal  was  found  among 
them  in  fifty  years,  during  the  entire  tenure  of  office  of 
the  chief  of  police  in  the  city  of  Amsterdam  in  the  eight- 
eenth century,  we  may  rest  assured  that  the  quiet  strength 
and  the  loyalty  of  the  mass  of  the  Mennonites  were  one 
of  the  best  assets  to  the  Netherlands  in  the  momentous 
changes  through  which  the  country  was  about  to  pass. 

I  have  no  records  nor  statistics  at  hand  by  which  to 
prove  my  contention;  but  I  am  morally  sure  that  among 
the  strongest  and  most  ardent  supporters  of  the  counter- 
revolution,  which  brought  the  house  of  Orange  back 

»*  Wem,  164. 


266  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

from  its  English  exile  to  Holland,  were  the  great  mass 
of  these  quiet,  undogmatic,  practically  pious,  and  utterly 
reliable  Doopsgesinden. 

William  of  Orange  had  befriended  them,  in  the  hour 
of  their  greatest  need,  and  the  Mennonites  ever  were  pos- 
sessed of  a  tenacious  memory. 

5.  Benevolence  of  the  Mennonites 

As  a  people  the  Mennonites  never  were  fond  of  osten- 
tatious living.  We  have  cited  exceptions  to  this  rule,  as 
we  have  studied  the  development  of  the  Anabaptist  move- 
ment from  its  very  beginning  in  the  Lowlands.  But  the 
rule  of  their  lives  was  one  of  humility  and  thrift  and 
altruism.  As  a  matter  of  course  this  altruism  showed  it- 
self first  of  all  at  home  and  among  the  brotherhood ;  but 
as  their  views  expanded,  their  benevolence  by  degrees 
began  to  include  the  fatherland  and  suffering  humanity 
everywhere. 

This  altruistic  spirit  led  them,  in  the  opening  years  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  to  establish  the  Fund  for  Foreign 
Needs  (Fonds  voor  Buitenlandsche  Nooden).  All  the 
parties  among  the  followers  of  Menno  had  contributed 
to  this  fund ;  and  from  it  aid  was  given  to  the  persecuted 
brethren  in  France  and  in  the  Palatinate  in  the  eighteenth 
century.^^ 

When  the  American  Mennonites  at  Germantown,  in 
this  period,  needed  a  preacher,  the  Holland  brethren  did 
their  utmost  to  find  them  one.  But  America  was  then 
far,  far  away,  the  wide  sea  had  its  sore  terrors,  and  con- 
sequently they  failed  of  their  purpose  of  finding  a  man. 
But  at  the  advice  of  the  Holland  brethren,  the  American 
Mennonites  elected  from  among  themselves  William  Rit- 
tinghausen  as  their  pastor  and  kept  him  as  such  till  he 

-5  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  204,  205,  209,  214,  219,  251,  252. 


LATER  HISTORY  267 

died  in  1708.  When  they  needed  books  and  Bibles,  these 
were  sent  to  them  from  Holland. 

In  1717,  the  Fund  paid  out  four  thousand  guilders 
for  the  assistance  of  Mennonite  exiles  who  had  come  to 
Holland  as  a  harbor  of  refuge.  Again,  in  1734,  they 
paid  a  ransom  to  the  elector  of  the  Palatinate,  as  a 
guaranty  of  religious  liberty  for  the  persecuted  Men- 
nonites. 

Brons  fills  page  after  page  with  recitals  of  the  won- 
derful benevolence  shown  in  the  creation  of  the  Fund, 
and  from  which  aid  was  freely  given  wherever  it  was 
needed  by  the  brotherhood.  It  has  been  well  said,^^  "  The 
benevolence  of  the  Dutch  brotherhood  for  their  fellow 
believers  remains  a  crown  of  glory  in  their  history,  which 
can  never  fade." 

6.  The  Growing  Love  for  Scholarship 

Originally  both  the  Anabaptists  and  the  Mennonites 
were  averse  to  scholastic  and  scientific  pursuits.  They 
looked  askance  at  human  learning.  Their  general  attitude 
had  been  voiced  by  Derek  Philips,  one  of  their  brightest 
stars  and  most  logical  thinkers.  Even  he  looked  with 
suspicion  on  the  product  of  the  schools ;  and  as  we  have 
seen,  in  their  earlier  days  they  absolutely  preferred  a 
God-made  rather  than  a  man-made  ministry. 

This  attitude  reminds  us  of  one  of  the  biting  "  Laymen's 
Stanzas,"  Leeken  Dichtjes,  of  the  bitter-sweet  Dutch  poet, 
De  Genestet,  who  says : 

Hy  was  een  God-geleerde, 
Zy  was  geleerd  van  God. 
(He  was  a  theologian, 
She  had  been  taught  of  God.) 

**  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  217. 


268  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

That  was  their  ideal — to  be  taught  of  God,  to  be  learn- 
ers in  the  one  great  school,  the  school  of  the  Book.  Thus 
they  had  come  to  idolize  the  Scriptures,  to  study  them 
exclusively  and  subjectively,  and  to  disparage  all  human 
learning  in  every  direction.  But  in  the  course  of  time 
the  more  intelligent  among  them  had  come  to  see  that 
this  narrow  limitation  of  their  intellectual  horizon  spelled 
disaster  for  the  entire  brotherhood.  Thus  in  the  eight- 
eenth century  a  hunger  for  intellectual  pursuits  began  to 
reveal  itself  among  their  younger  men.  They  began  to 
sense  the  need  of  expansion,  of  wider  and  deeper  knowl- 
edge among  their  preachers  and,  as  we  have  seen,  they 
sought  it  in  the  debating  clubs  of  the  CoUegiants  and 
among  the  Remonstrants,  for  both  of  whom  they  felt  a 
natural  affinity.  This  spirit  was  especially  strong  among 
the  Waterlandians,  and  from  this  group  the  aspirations 
went  forth  which  were  destined  to  change  the  entire  out- 
look of  the  Mennonites  in  the  Netherlands.  For  their 
intimate  contact  with  the  Remonstrants  and  CoUegiants 
and  Socinians  led  them  into  a  channel,  where  the  drift 
was  always  more  irresistibly  away  from  their  former 
undogmatic  to  a  subsequent  antidogmatic  position,  and 
thus  Modernism,  when  it  appeared,  reaped  a  rich  harvest 
among  them. 

It  has  been  shown  how,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  they 
could  boast  of  names  among  the  brotherhood,  of  national 
and  even  international  reputation.  In  this  connection  I 
want  to  point  to  certain  landmarks  of  intellectualism, 
which  I  had  originally  intended  to  treat  later,  but  for 
which  the  logical  place  seems  to  be  right  here.  I  have 
reference  to  the  institutions,  which  they  have  founded. 

And  first  of  all  I  point  to  their  seminary  at  Amster- 
dam. The  Waterlandians  early  felt  the  need  of  a  trained 
ministry;  as  it  was  felt  that  the  old  method  of  electing 


LATER  HISTORY  269 

men  to  be  spiritual  leaders,  without  any  special  prepara- 
tion for  the  office,  was  wholly  out  of  joint  with  the  times. 
Galenus  de  Haan  therefore  tentatively  began  the  prepara- 
tion of  men  for  the  ministry,  in  the  seventeenth  century .^^ 
Rues  supplies  added  information,  when  he  tells  us  that 
the  Church  of  the  Lammists,  in  Amsterdam,  in  his  day, 
supported  a  salaried  teacher  of  theology.^* 

As  the  power  of  the  Church  in  ecclesiastical  affairs 
slowly  died  out,  and  that  of  its  natural  enemies,  the 
politicians,  grew  by  degrees,  greater  leniency  was  shown 
to  the  Mennonites.  The  chief  cities  set  the  example,  as 
early  as  1627.^^ 

This  leniency  included  the  Remonstrant  party,  which 
obtained  liberty  at  Amsterdam,  in  1630,  to  have  their 
own  church  and  to  conduct  their  own  services  therein. 
Thus  encouraged  they  founded,  three  years  later,  their 
own  celebrated  seminary  in  the  chief  city  of  the  Nether- 
lands, of  which  Episcopius,  who  after  the  death  of  Ar- 
minius,  had  become  the  leader  of  the  party,  became  the 
first  professor  in  theology.  He  died  in  that  position,  in 
1643.***  Limborch  and  Clericus  (le  Qercq)  taught  in  the 
same  school.  The  Mennonite  young  men  eagerly  sought 
their  training  there,  but  in  the  dire  need  of  pastors  even 
many  Remonstrants  were  called  to  Mennonite  pulpits. 
Thus  the  bond  between  them  became  ever  closer.  In 
1724,  however,  the  Remonstrants  themselves,  through  the 
insistent  demand  for  a  competently  trained  ministry,  were 
compelled  to  dissuade  their  ministers  from  serving  Men- 
nonite churches,  and  they  were  also  forced  to  close  their 
school  for  Mennonite  students. 

Thus  the  Doopsgezinden  were  placed  before  a  serious 
dilemma.    The  Lammists  of  Amsterdam  now  undertook 

"  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  148,  »  Ypey  en  Dermout,  II,  329. 

2«  Tegenw.  Staet,  so  Idem,  330. 


270  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

to  establish  a  school  for  themselves  and,  in  1735,  Tjerk 
Nieuwenhuis  was  appointed  as  its  first  professor  in  the- 
ology and  philosophy.  The  churches,  however,  showed 
very  little  sympathy  with  the  undertaking,  which  was  indi- 
cated by  the  fact  that,  at  a  meeting  to  discuss  the  subject, 
of  the  forty-two  churches  invited  to  send  delegates  only 
six  responded.  The  church  '*  Under  the  Lamb,"  the 
mother  church  of  the  Lammists,  therefore  shouldered  the 
burden  alone.^^  The  board  of  directors  of  this  nascent 
seminary  consisted  of  the  professor  in  charge,  four  min- 
isters, two  deacons,  and  three  laymen.  The  first  endow- 
ments paid  in,  were  furnished  by  two  members  of  the 
same  old  church,  Jan  Honore  and  Leonard  Thomas  de 
Vogel.^^  In  these  two  schools  lay  the  nucleus  for  the 
subsequent  City  University  {Stedelyke  Universiteit)  of 
Amsterdam.  At  the  present  time  young  Doopsgezinden 
studying  for  the  ministry  spend  five  years  at  one  of  the 
national  universities,  the  last  two  at  Amsterdam,  during 
which  the  candidate  for  the  ministry  is  compelled  to  at- 
tend the  lectures  in  the  Mennonite  Seminary.  The  pro- 
fessors in  this  school  are  at  the  same  time  regular  pro- 
fessors in  the  theological  faculty  of  the  City  University .^^ 
The  late  Dr.  S.  Cramer,  one  of  the  two  editors  of  the 
Bibliotheca,  celebrated  as  a  historian  and,  as  I  know  to 
my  joy,  an  ever-ready  adviser  and  helper  of  the  man 
eager  for  original  research  work,  was  one  of  these  pro- 
fessors at  the  time  of  his  death,  January  30,  1913.  I 
reverently  place  a  garland  of  immortelles  on  his  grave. 

Another  institution,  which  has  made  the  Dutch  Men- 
nonites  famous,  is  the  Teyler  Institution,  or  correctly, 
"  The  Society  for  the  Extension  of  Knowledge  and  for 
the  Establishment  of  the  Christian  Religion,"  1778.    The 

3*  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,   149. 

^2  Idem,  149.  ^  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  358. 


LATER  HISTORY  271 

danger  which  threatened  the  Mennonites  was  not  specially 
materialistic  in  its  nature,  but  it  lay  in  the  subtle  changes 
which  were  taking  place  in  their  deepest  religious  con- 
victions. And  to  remedy  this  condition  of  affairs,  Pieter 
Teyler  vander  Hulst,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, established  the  above  society,  which  bore  his  name. 
The  original  family  name  was  not  Teyler  but  Taylor. 
Its  founder  had  fled  from  England  to  Holland,  in  1580, 
and  had  married  a  young  Dutch  woman,  Tryntje  Kerk- 
hoven,  who  was  also  a  religious  refugee  from  Flanders. 
The  family  became  wealthy.  When  Teyler  died,  he  left  a 
considerable  capital  for  the  founding  of  the  institution, 
besides  a  museum  for  natural  history,  coins,  paintings, 
rare  books,  etc.  This  foundation  was  further  enriched 
by  the  Stolpian  legacy,  and  has  exerted  a  telling  influence 
on  the  development  of  religious  and  scientific  thought  in 
the  Netherlands  in  the  nineteenth  century.  It  offers 
premiums  in  money,  or  gold  and  silver  medals,  for  the 
best  answers  to  questions  of  the  utmost  variety,  of  a  re- 
ligious and  scientific  character.  Not  only  Mennonite 
scholars,  but  men  of  every  conceivable  religious  type,  in 
Holland,  France,  and  Germany,  compete  for  the  honors 
it  offers.^* 

But  the  scholarly  zest  of  the  Mennonites  had  not  been 
exhausted  by  this  first  serious  undertaking  of  theirs  in 
a  new  direction.  Six  years  after  the  founding  of  the 
Teyler  Institute,  in  1784,  Jan  Nieuwenhuizen,  with  his 
son,  who  was  a  doctor  of  medicine  at  Amsterdam,  and 
two  other  men,  A.  J.  Hoekstra  and  A.  H.  van  Gelder, 
founded  the  Society  for  the  Public  Good  (De  Maat- 
schappy  tot  nut  van  het  Algemeen),  whose  aim  was  the 
improvement  of  general  conditions.  Mrs.  Brons  calls  it  ^^ 
"  one  of  the  most  flourishing  and  noteworthy  associa- 

••Idem,  153.  ^^  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  165. 


272  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

tions  of  its  kind  in  Europe/'  It  aimed  and  still  aims  at 
the  uplift  of  the  masses ;  it  created  the  Dutch  public-school 
system,  savings-banks,  public  libraries,  kindergartens,  etc. 
It  tabooes  politics  and  religion,  and  practically  all  edu- 
cated Dutchmen  today  are  members  of  't  Nut,  Both  men 
and  women  are  welcome  to  its  membership. 

The  old  mother  church  at  Amsterdam  had  practically 
all  alone  sustained  the  burden  of  the  Training  School  for 
the  ministry,  till  France  overwhelmed  the  Dutch  Republic. 
But  the  heavy  draft  on  her  income  through  the  demands 
of  the  rapacious  State,  since  1795,  threatened  its  very 
existence.  The  churches  of  Haarlem  and  Zaandam  were 
the  first  to  declare  their  willingness  to  cooperate  in  the 
work.  A  new  enthusiasm  was  thus  created  which  spread 
far  and  wide  and,  in  1811,  it  was  decided  to  sustain  the 
institution  on  a  broader  scale.  And  thus,  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  Dutch  Anabaptism,  the  plan  ripened 
to  provide  all  churches  of  the  brotherhood  with  specially 
trained  men,  and  also  to  create  a  sustentation  fund  for  the 
assistance  of  weak  congregations.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  "  United  Mennonite  Society  "  (de  Algemeene 
Doopsgesinde  Sociteit)  which  was  destined  to  play  an 
important  part  in  their  subsequent  history .^^ 

All  these  institutions  demand  leadership  of  a  high 
order  of  intelligence,  and  the  supply  seems  always  to  meet 
the  demand,  which  indicates  that  the  day  is  forever  past, 
in  the  history  of  the  Dutch  Mennonites,  in  which  intel- 
lectual pursuits  were  looked  upon  as  belonging  to  the 
realm  of  "  the  world."  Once  they  began  to  feel  proud 
of  their  history  and  developed  an  interest  in  historical 
studies  along  the  channels  of  their  own  past,  it  was 
found  that  they  could  boast  of  historians  who  were  fully 
abreast  of  their  contemporaries  in  this  department. 

"•Idem,  i6s. 


LATER  HISTORY  273 

They  found  an  outlet  for  the  product  of  these  historical 
studies  in  the  "  Mennonite  Contributions"  {Doopsge- 
sinde  Bydragen),  in  which  articles  of  a  very  high  order 
appeared.  Most  of  the  names  of  these  historians  have 
been  freely  quoted  in  these  lectures — S.  Miiller,  A.  M. 
Cramer,  S.  Blaupot  ten  Cate,  J.  G.  de  Hoop  Scheffer, 
Chr.  Sepp,  and  especially  the  lamented  Dr.  S.  Cramer. 

7.  The  French  Revolution 

We  are  living  in  days  of  high  tension,  in  which  a 
spirit  of  anarchy  passes  from  country  to  country,  and  in 
which  thrones  and  principalities  have  tottered  and  fallen, 
till  of  the  old  forms  of  government  in  Europe  but  little 
remains.  And  what  we  are  experiencing  is  but  the  echo 
(or  is  it  the  final  development?)  of  the  spirit  of  revolu- 
tion which  shook  France,  aye,  and  all  Europe  to  its 
deepest  foundations  in  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  French  Revolution  was  underlaid  by  a 
type  of  infidelity  totally  different  from  anything  which 
had  hitherto  appeared ;  the  most  callous  and  radical  type 
of  rationalism  which  had  ever  been  developed  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church. 

Its  organ  was  found  in  the  Encyclopedie  Frangaise, 
edited  by  Diderot  and  D'Alembert,  and  whose  contribu- 
tors were  men  like  Montesquieu,  Voltaire,  Helvetius,  Hol- 
bach,  and  Rousseau.  Never  perhaps  in  the  history  of  the 
world  was  a  more  brilliant  group  of  men  cooperating  for 
an  object,  to  them  in  the  main  only  a  scholastic  idea,  but 
fraught  with  the  gravest  issues  for  humanity. 

The  hearts  of  men  were  inflamed,  evil  passions  were 
aroused  to  frenzy ;  the  down-trodden  masses,  held  under 
a  cruel  yoke  of  age-long  oppression,  broke  their  bonds 
and,  with  the  cry  Ni  Dieu  ni  mattre  flung  themselves 
at  the  throats  of  their  masters  and  inaugurated  the  hectic 


274  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

revolt  which  disemboweled  France,  wiped  out  her  line 
of  kings,  crushed  the  Church  under  its  heel,  and  changed 
all  of  France,  but  especially  Paris,  into  a  shambles.  It 
reached  its  climax  in  the  Terrorist  National  Convention, 
1792-1795,  which  abolished  "The  Christian  Era,"  on 
October  5,  1793,  aye,  and  "  Christianity  "  itself,  on  No- 
vember 7  of  the  same  year.  It  must  have  appeared  to  all 
men  of  sober  mind,  in  that  era,  as  if  the  end  of  the 
world  had  come. 

Like  wild-fire  the  revolution  spread  in  every  direction, 
and  Holland  saw  its  Republic,  founded  in  martyr  blood 
and  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  swirled  away  to  destruction 
in  the  turbulent  flood.  Suddenly  the  whole  country 
teemed  with  riot  and  turmoil.  These  so-called  "  phleg- 
matic "  Dutchmen  were  changed  into  hysterical  maniacs, 
and  a  strange  restlessness,  a  bizarre  lust  for  change  and 
liberty,  of  which  no  nation  at  that  day  had  a  greater  share 
than  they,  welled  up  in  every  breast.  Everywhere  men 
and  women  danced  about  liberty  poles  set  up  on  the 
commons,  and  shouted  the  slogan  of  the  French  revolu- 
tion. Liberie,  egalite,  fraternite. 

The  churches  in  Holland,  as  elsewhere,  were  tried  to 
the  core.  It  appears  to  me  that  Hase  was  correct,  when 
he  said,'^  "  The  revolution  was  not  occasioned  by  the 
collapse  of  the  Church,  but  was  made  possible  by  it." 
Such  was  certainly  the  case  in  the  Netherlands.  The 
old  faith  had  gone,  and  a  dead  supranaturalism  had  begun 
to  take  its  place. 

The  Mennonite  churches,  as  well  as  the  others,  were 
caught  in  this  swift  current,  even  more  so  than  any  other 
group  of  believers  in  the  country.^®  Complete  liberty 
meant  at  least  complete  separation  between  Church  and 

"  •♦  History  of  the  Church,"  434. 
■»  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  163. 


LATER  HISTORY  275 

State.  How  deeply  the  new  spirit  gripped  them  may  be 
judged  from  the  fact  that  some  of  them  whose  hereditary 
principles  demanded  passive  obedience  and  whose  fathers 
had  passionately  condemned  war  and  the  bearing  of  arms, 
now  not  only  encouraged  the  revolution  but  were  among 
the  most  zealous  supporters  of  and  participants  in  the 
forming  of  armed  citizens'  militia,  which  aimed  at  the 
overthrow  of  the  existing  government.^'*  These  cases 
were,  however,  exceptional,  and  they  were  condemned  by 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  Mennonites ;  and  it  is  a  significant 
fact  that  this  spirit  displayed  itself  among  the  brother- 
hood mainly  in  Vriesland  where  they  had  been  so  long 
and  so  bitterly  persecuted.  The  Mennonites  as  a  whole 
were  as  bitterly  opposed  to  the  revolution  as  any  other 
sect  or  church  in  the  land. 

But  all  action  causes  reaction.  The  French  Revolution 
reacted  in  the  French  empire,  and  the  Napoleonic  regime 
began.  The  Ehitch  Republic  was  abolished  and  Napoleon 
annexed  Holland  to  his  great  empire.  The  supreme  trial 
of  Europe  had  begun. 

How  the  Churches  suffered  under  the  hand  of  the  con- 
queror ! 

A  glance  at  the  "  Inventory  of  the  Archives  in  the 
hands  of  the  United  Mennonite  Church  at  Amsterdam  '* 
(Inventaris  der  Archiefstukken  berustende  by  de  Ver^ 
eenigde  Doopsgesinde  gemeente  te  Amsterdam)  ^  edited 
by  De  Hoop  Scheffer,  1883-1884,  will  tell  us  of  the  end- 
less vexations  and  troubles  of  the  brotherhood  at  that 
time. 

Napoleon  demanded  organization.  He  was  the  man 
of  the  square  and  the  compass,  the  high  priest  of  ex- 
actitude in  outward  form  and  accessibility  of  facts.  And 
the  Mennonites  always  had  been,  were  then,  and  still 

«•  Y.  en  D.,  G$sck,  der  Herv.  Kerk,  III,  420. 


276  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

are  a  body  consisting  of  perfectly  independent  units. 
They  were  then,  as  they  still  are,  divided  into  groups. 
Fortunately  Napoleon  had  approved  the  appointment  of  a 
Hollander  at  the  head  of  the  commission,  to  whom  the 
reorganization  of  all  the  churches  in  Holland  was  en- 
trusted.*^ 

Baron  d'Alphonse,  as  general  intendant  of  domestic 
affairs,  had  control  of  the  whole  matter;  but  the  Re- 
formed, the  Lutherans,  the  Remonstrants,  and  the  Men- 
nonites  owed  a  great  deal  to  the  shrewd  management 
of  their  affairs  by  Janssen.  The  Mennonites  were  in  a 
peculiarly  bad  way.  Napoleon  insisted  on  organizing  the 
Mennonites  as  a  whole,  under  the  imperial  decree;  and 
they  could  not  be  thus  organized,  by  virtue  of  their  inter- 
nal constitution.  Janssen  therefore  prevailed  on  d'Al- 
phonse  to  accept  an  apparent  organization  in  Heu  of  a 
real  one.*^  This  was  accomplished  by  articles,  which  in 
the  main  were  as  follows :  ^^ 

1.  The  communion  of  the  Doopsgezinden,  separated  into  its 
constituent  groups,  shall  continue  as  heretofore. 

2.  The  minister  of  religion  shall  correspond  only  with  such 
consistories,  as  are  appointed  as  "corresponding  consistories." 

3.  Said  consistories  shall  be  the  medium  of  correspondence  for 
all  congregations  in  their  district. 

4.  These  consistories  will  not  assume  governing  authority  over 
the  congregations  under  them,  which  will  all  retain  their  abso- 
lute autonomy. 

5.  A  vacancy  in  any  pulpit  shall  be  at  once  reported  to  the 
"  corresponding  consistories,"  and  the  vacancy  shall  not  be  filled 
except  with  the  approval  of  his  Majesty,  the  Emperor. 

Thus  the  Doopsgezinden  lived  on  during  the  years  of 
the  French  regime ;  and  when,  by  the  counter-revolution 

« Idem,  IV,  390. 

«  Y.  en  D.,  Gesch.  der  Herv.  Kerk,  IV,  526. 

•*Idem,  IV,  527. 


LATER  HISTORY  277 

of  1813,  William  of  Orange  returned,  and  Holland  again 
became  an  independent  State,  a  kingdom  this  time,  they 
had  suffered  perhaps  less  than  any  other  religious  body 
from  the  interference  of  the  French  government. 

In  the  opening  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  they 
still  faced  the  future  undaunted,  although  their  churches, 
notably  in  the  larger  cities,  had  suffered  considerably  in 
a  financial  way,  through  the  confiscatory  methods  of  the 
French. 

8.  Influence  of  Modernism 

In  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  theology 
of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  had  wholly  lost  the  vigor 
and  depth*  of  its  earlier  days.  A  flat  and  insipid  supra- 
naturalism  had  replaced  it,  represented  by  men  like  Van 
der  Palm,  Borger,  Clarisse,  Kist,  Van  Hengel,  all  at  the 
University  of  Leyden ;  Chevallier,  Muntinghe,  and  Ypey, 
at  Groningen;  Heringa,  Royaards,  Bouman,  and  Vinke, 
at  Utrecht;  and  by  numerous  celebrated  ministers 
throughout  the  Church.  This  whole  tendency  stood  for 
a  modified  rationalism.  It  professed  to  build  on  the 
Scriptures,  but  was  anticonfessional,  antiphilosophical, 
and  anti-Calvinistic.  It  was  deistical  in  its  dogmatics, 
Pelagian  in  its  anthropology,  moralistic  in  its  Christology, 
collegialistic  in  its  ecclesiology,  and  eudaimonistic  in  its 
eschatology.*^ 

About  1835  it  was  set  aside  by  the  Groninger  theology, 
especially  in  the  Northern  part  of  the  country,  which  re- 
placed revelation  and  doctrine  by  the  idea  of  "  training  for 
a  higher  destiny,"  whose  ultimate  aim  was  conformity 
with  God;  a  theological  evolutionary  hypothesis,  there- 
fore. 

But  by  the  middle  of  the  century  all  this  was  swept 

*»Bavinck,  Geref.  Dogm.,  1,  129. 


278  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

away  by  Modernism.  Its  foundations  were  laid  by  Pro- 
fessor Opzoomer  of  Utrecht.  Its  protagonists  were 
Scholten,  who  prepared  its  way  theologically,  with  his 
"  Doctrine  of  the  Reformed  Church  "  {Leer  der  Her- 
vormde  Kerk),  and  Kuenen,  who  with  Wellhausen  of 
Germany  became  the  founder  of  the  destructive  critical 
school,  especially  as  regards  the  early  books  of  the  Testa- 
ment. 

Thus  modernism  was  born,  which  for  a  time  swept 
everything  before  it.  The  old  dogmatics  were  entirely 
discarded  and  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith — the  Trinity,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  the  atone- 
ment, miracles,  the  resurrection,  ascension,  and  second 
coming  of  Christ,  heaven  and  hell — all  these  were  ruth- 
lessly cast  aside. 

They  were  replaced  by  an  outwardly  sweet  and  attrac- 
tive humanitarianism,  in  which  doctrine  had  no  part 
whatever,  but  in  which  life  counted  for  everything.  It 
was  the  culmination,  in  the  Netherlands,  of  a  series  of 
negative  doctrinal  steps,  by  which  the  center  of  gravity 
by  degrees  was  wholly  removed  from  God  to  man,  from 
the  world  to  come  to  the  world  that  now  is. 

Now  remember  our  outline  of  the  theology  of  the 
Dutch  Anabaptists,  their  views  on  the  Trinity,  on  the 
divinity  of  Christ,  on  the  atonement,  on  original  sin,  on 
doctrine  as  compared  to  life;  and  tell  me,  was  it  not 
inevitable  that  this  new  theological  or  rather  untheo- 
logical  departure  should  take  them  by  storm  and  win 
among  them  large  numbers  of  eager  recruits? 

Both  the  Remonstrants  and  the  Mennonites  were 
quickly  largely  won  over  to  the  side  of  the  Modernists. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  example  of  the  general 
attitude  of  serious-minded  Mennonites  today  is  found  in 
the  wonderful  story  of  the  Anabaptists  from  the  hand 


LATER  HISTORY  279 

of  Mrs.  Brons,  which  I  have  repeatedly  quoted.  The  atti- 
tude of  this  talented  writer  is  frankly  and  thoroughly 
modern.    Says  she :  ** 

It  is  a  general  phenomenon  of  modern  times  that  religion  no 
longer  forms  the  center  of  human  interest  in  the  same  way  as 
in  former  centuries.  The  questions  which  then  dominated  all 
were  those  of  its  outward  exhibition  in  worship,  ceremonies, 
and  doctrinal  statements.  For,  by  degrees,  religion  had  be- 
come identified  with  these  external  forms;  and  its  ethical  con- 
tents, which  Christ  put  in  the  forefront,  with  a  breaking  of 
similar  stark  forms,  were  assigned  a  secondary  position,  wholly 
in  contradiction  with  the  fundamental  ideas  of  its  founder. 
The  reaction  did  not  fail  to  come.  The  horror  of  the  bondage 
of  dogmas  had  led  large  numbers,  who  in  the  end  confounded 
the  husk  with  the  kernel,  to  the  point  of  extending  their  aversion 
of  the  mere  outward  in  religion  to  the  whole  of  it  and  to  supinely 
withdraw  from  it  with  indifference  and  disdain. 

And  again :  *^ 

In  every  field  of  science  we  behold  a  fresh  and  joyful  prog- 
ress but,  with  regard  to  our  appreciation  of  the  Bible,  only  here 
and  there  the  German  people  begin  to  overcome  their  fear  of 
the  light.  As  a  whole  they  occupy  a  standpoint,  almost  the 
same  as  that  which  they  held  three  hundred  years  ago.  The 
majority  of  the  Protestants  are  still  bound  by  the  antiquated 
confessions  of  that  period.  But  the  Mennonites,  by  reason  of 
the  perfect  liberty  which  the  fathers  obtained  and  kept  for  them, 
are  not  hindered  by  an3rthing  to  prove  ever)rthing  and  to  hold 
fast  to  that  which  is  good.  Such  a  test  the  Bible  must  be  able 
to  stand,  in  what  is  spiritual  in  it,  or  it  is  not  what  man  has 
hitherto  believed  it  to  be.  The  real  in  the  Bible  will  stand  forth 
in  all  the  greater  brilliancy,  the  more  the  unreal  in  it  is  recog- 
nized and  treated  as  such.  The  real,  the  spirit  which  fills  it,  that 
is  love,  and  tenderness  of  conscience  is  valuable  for  all  men. 
On  the  unreal,  the  differences  in  the  confessions  and  in  church- 
dom  are  built  up,  etc. 

"  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  378. 
« Idem.  380. 


280  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

Here  we  have  a  clear  statement  of  the  doctrinal  posi- 
tion held,  at  this  day,  by  the  overwhelming  majority  of 
Dutch  Mennonites.     Thus  they  view  life  and  faith. 

9.  Final  Vnion^Efforts,  and  Present  Condition  of  the 
Mennonites 

It  is  passing  strange  that  such  a  measure  of  organic 
oneness  as  is  theirs  today  was  obtained  by  the  Dutch 
Mennonites  by  means  of  that  very  trained  ministry  which 
they  despised  and  rejected  in  their  earlier  history.  As 
we  have  indicated  repeatedly,  the  party  among  them, 
which  more  than  any  other  has  blazed  the  way  to  their 
present  position  of  importance  and  recognition,  is  that  of 
the  Waterlandians.  They  were  the  first  to  broaden  out, 
they  first  began  to  break  through  the  wall  of  separation 
and  seclusion  which  kept  them  apart  from  all  fellow 
believers.  They  first  of  all  began  to  lay  the  foundations 
for  an  educated  ministry,  and  when  Amsterdam,  in  the 
bitter  days  of  the  French  regime,  felt  her  strength  wan- 
ing, and  when  the  danger  presented  itself  of  a  compulsory 
closing  of  the  doors  of  their  school  in  the  capital  city, 
suddenly  a  wave  of  concentrated  effort  passed  over  all 
the  churches  and  the  founding  of  the  General  Mennonite 
Society,  in  1811,  may  be  considered  as  the  occasion  by 
which  a  sense  of  solidarity  was  born  among  them. 

Of  course,  after  a  fashion,  the  Frisian  and  Groninger 
societies  had  reached  out  toward  the  same  end.  But 
after  all,  they  were  local  and  provincial  in  character. 
With  their  ever-broadening  views  in  theology  and  their 
great  humanitarian  interests,  it  was  inevitable  that  the  in- 
grained and  inherited  sense  of  differentiation  and  distrust 
which  so  long  had  obtained  among  them,  must  finally 
make  place  for  more  advanced  and  more  thoroughly 
fraternal  views.    The  Groninger  Society  maintains  a  spe- 


LATER  HISTORY  281 

cial  fund  for  the  support  of  ministers'  widows,  since  1835 ; 
they  also  take  care  of  their  orphans. 

The  brotherhood  as  a  whole  have  organized  a  special 
"  Society  for  the  Mennonites  of  the  Dispersion,"  which 
does  excellent  work  for  little  bands  of  their  fellow  be- 
lievers scattered  here  and  there. 

Since  1849,  they  also  have  a  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, laboring  not  only  in  heathen,  but  in  all  foreign 
lands,  wherever  an  opportunity  offers  itself.  Churches 
were  founded  by  this  Society  on  Java  and  Sumatra.  And 
in  these  foreign  missionary  efforts,  they  were  among  the 
first  to  start  a  medical  mission  and  an  agricultural  colony. 

They  edit  their  own  paper,  "  The  Sunday  Herald,"  (De 
Zondagsbode)y  which  is  read  by  practically  all  the  Dutch 
Mennonites. 

In  their  internal  constitution,  they  are  still  absolutely 
autonomous.  Each  church  is  a  perfect  unit  in  itself.  Re- 
ligious instruction  is  regularly  given  to  their  children, 
from  the  age  of  ten  till  they  are  ready  for  baptism.  Bap- 
tism still  occurs  generally  late  in  youth,  most  of  them  con- 
sidering eighteen  as  too  early  in  life  for  so  serious  an 
undertaking. 

Liberalism,  as  has  been  shown,  is  in  vogue  among  them, 
although *^  "an  evangelical  minority  still  represents  a 
sort  of  Biblical  orthodoxy,  but  free  from  all  polemic." 
The  old  opposition  to  the  bearing  of  arms  and  military 
service  has  been  wholly  abandoned ;  the  oath  is  still  for- 
bidden to  Dutch  Mennonites.  One  of  their  members  was 
nominated  some  years  ago  as  minister  of  war,  indicating 
how  absolute  has  been  their  change  of  base  in  regard  to 
pacifism.  Since  1809,  their  preachers,  if  they  desire  it, 
receive  a  subsidy  from  the  State  treasury,  as  do  the  min- 
isters of  the  Reformed  Church. 

"Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  361. 


282  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

A  remarkable  number  of  noted  statesmen,  ministers, 
representatives  in  the  Lower  and  Higher  House,  burgo- 
masters of  different  cities,  etc.,  have  belonged  and  are 
still  belonging  to  the  Mennonites. 

Numerically  they  are  weak,  far  out  of  proportion  to  the 
recognition  they  have  received,  which  pleads  well  for 
their  intrinsic  value  as  citizens.  In  1808,  they  numbered 
only  26,935  souls  in  all.  In  1860,  the  number  had  risen 
to  41,813  souls.  In  1900,  they  numbered  57,786  souls.  At 
the  present  time  they  have  about  three  thousand  more 
souls,  so  that  they  number  about  sixty  thousand  in  all. 
If  we  remember  that  this  includes  not  members  only, 
but  all  their  unbaptized  children  as  well,  their  insig- 
nificance numerically  is  at  once  apparent. 

The  old  affection  for  the  Mennonite  brotherhood,  and  the 
mutual  tolerance  which  springs  from  the  recognition  of  the 
exalted  and  highly  honored  demand  for  freedom  of  personal 
conviction,  all  this  has  caused  a  deeply  felt  and  undisturbed  in- 
ternal unity,  which  encompasses  all  the  Dutch  Doopsgesinden" 

What  will  their  future  be  ?    Who  can  tell  us  ? 

10.  Influence  of  the  Mennonites  on  Ecclesiastical 
Developments,  especially  in  England 

Vedder  has  called  the  Anabaptist  movement  "  the  radi- 
cal Reformation."  In  view  of  all  we  have  seen  about  this 
movement,  is  there  much  doubt  in  regard  to  the  correct- 
ness of  his  statement?  I  do  not  now  speak  of  that 
peculiar  tendency  within  the  circle  of  the  Anabaptist 
movement,  which  we  have  called  "  radical,"  radical  in 
their  theology,  radical  in  their  views  of  life.  But  broadly 
speaking,  does  not  the  entire  movement  stand  for  and 

«    Brons,  T.  odcr  M.,  361. 


LATER  HISTORY  283 

make  for  radicalism?  We  have  studied  the  theological 
views  of  the  men  whom  we  dubbed  "  conservatives,"  as 
compared  with  men  like  Pastor  and  Niklaes  and  Franck 
and  Matthysz.  But  did  not  the  opinions  of  Menno  and 
Derek  Philips  and  the  other  leaders  of  the  conservative 
wing  of  the  movement,  in  the  end,  make  for  Arminianism 
and  Socinianism?  Or  at  least,  did  they  not  prepare 
the  way  for  the  acceptance  of  these  views,  once  they  had 
appeared  on  the  scene  ? 

And  is  not  the  entire  ultimate  position  they  occupied  in 
the  Netherlands,  where  of  all  lands  they  made  the  deepest 
impression  in  the  end,  and  where  they  attained  the  great- 
est success,  a  substantial  verification  of  the  words  of  Doc- 
tor Vedder,  when  we  place  them  side  by  side  with  the 
candid  avowal  of  Mrs.  Brons  ?  *® 

And  let  us  remember,  on  the  part  of  the  Anabaptists 
this  was  not  a  gradual  dogmatic  change,  a  sort  of  doc- 
trinal evolution,  as  it  has  been  in  many  other  communions, 
springing  from  the  Reformation ;  but  with  them  it  was  the 
maintenance  of  an  essential  principle  as  old  as  their  com- 
munion— the  absolute  and  untrammeled  freedom  of 
every  individual  to  read  in  the  Scriptures  the  things  he 
saw,  or  thought  he  saw  there,  without  any  confessional 
restraint  or  ecclesiastical  control.  Modernism,  which  in 
these  later  days  has  so  completely  enveloped  the  Men- 
nonite  churches  of  the  Netherlands,  lay  hidden  in  these 
early  Anabaptist  principles  as  the  oak  lies  hidden  in  the 
acorn.  Small  wonder  then  that  these  sons  and  daughters 
of  untrammeled  freedom  have  exerted  a  generative  in- 
fluence far  beyond  their  own  country. 

And  as  they  were  connected  with  no  country  so  closely 
as  with  England,  there  was  no  country  where  this  in- 
fluence was  so  strongly  felt  as  there.    Professor  Lezius 

**  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  361. 


284  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

of  Greifswald  is  quoted  by  the  '*  Mennonite  Papers " 
(Mennonitische  Bladen)  as  follows:  *''^ 

When  the  seventeenth  century  in  England  has  led  to  a  great 
victory  for  the  idea  of  tolerance  as  soon  as  it  began  to  be  dis- 
cussed and  was  called  into  existence,  this  merit  is  to  be  only 
ascribed  to  the  Doopsgezinden,  the  Independents,  and  Quakers, 
who  demanded  from  the  state  liberty  to  build  their  own  churches. 

And  where  did  all  this  love  of  independence  and  of 
liberty  originate?  Is  Mrs.  Brons  correct  or  not,  when 
she  speaks,**®  in  this  connection,  of  the 

Independents  and  Quakers  and  Baptists,  who  with  their  fathers, 
the  Mennonites,  belong  to  the  originators  of  that  great  movement 
of  the  spirits  of  men,  of  which  the  ideal  was  the  liberation  and 
elevation  of  man  in  every  sphere,  and  which  with  all  the  great 
results  which  it  has  already  attained,  is  as  yet  far  from  having 
reached  the  goal — that  is  to  say.  Liberalism. 

So  much  is  sure,  on  no  country  outside  of  Holland 
did  they  exercise  a  more  obvious  and  indisputable  in- 
fluence than  on  England. 

The  distance  between  Holland  and  England  is  small, 
and  in  the  turbulent  times  of  the  great  persecution,  in 
the  Lowlands,  refugees  by  the  thousands  left  Holland 
for  the  harbor  of  refuge  in  the  great  island  kingdom.  As 
early  as  1546  several  refugees,  mostly  from  Antwerp, 
came  to  London,  where  Catherine  Parr,  the  wife  of 
Henry  VIII,  made  the  Reformed  party  welcome.  In  this 
same  year  the  church  of  the  Augustinian  convent  was 
handed  over  to  them  by  Cranmer,  and  it  soon  had  four 
regular  pastors,  under  the  superintendency  of  John  a 
Lasco.  In  1553  it  counted  nearly  four  thousand  mem- 
bers.**^     So  large  had  been  the  immigration  from  the 

*»  November,  1909.  ^  Y.  en  D.,  Gesch.  der  Herv.  Kerk  I,  156. 

»»  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  357. 


LATER  HISTORY  285 

Netherlands  that  in  1550  they  literally  came  by  ship- 
loads.^2 

By  far  the  majority  of  these  immigrants  were  Ana- 
baptists, because  in  this  period  they  far  outnumbered 
the  Reformed  in  Holland.  If  the  latter  came  by  hundreds, 
the  others  came  by  thousands.  But  at  this  time  they 
were  still  everywhere  identified  with  the  Miinster  fanatics, 
and  they  were  compelled  to  hide  their  identity.  In  En- 
gland, as  well  as  on  the  Continent,  they  were  proscribed 
as  public  enemies.  So  long,  however,  as  they  lay  hidden 
they  were  not  ferreted  out.  During  the  six  years  of  the 
reign  of  Edward  VI  England  had  absolute  religious 
liberty,  with  the  exception  of  the  sect  of  the  Anabaptists 
who  were  under  the  ban.  And  how  closely  the  Anabap- 
tists hid  their  identity  in  all  these  years  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  in  the  whole  reign  of  Edward  VI  "  no 
one  was  heard  to  suffer  for  any  matter  of  religion,  either 
Papist  or  Protestant,  two  only  excepted:  an  English- 
woman, Joan  Boucher  of  Kent,  and  a  Dutchman  named 
George."  ^^  Both  were  Anabaptists  and  unquestionably 
of  the  violent  type,  if  not  politically,  at  least  doctrinally. 

For  not  all  lay  hidden;  there  were  always  exuberant 
spirits  among  them,  who  did  not  believe  in  hiding  the 
light  under  a  bushel  and  who  sought  martyrdom  rather 
than  to  avoid  it.  It  was  well  known  to  the  authorities 
that  large  numbers  of  Anabaptists  had  sought  asylum  in 
England,  but  nothing  was  done  about  it  so  long  as  they 
kept  quiet.  The  only  difference  between  the  Continent 
and  England  lay  in  the  fact  that  England  did  not  search 
them  out  whereas  the  Continental  States  did. 

The  attitude  toward  the  Anabaptists  and  their  limited 
activities  appears  from  the  edicts  promulgated  during  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII,  1511-1547,  against  the  Anabaptists, 

*2  Idem,  155.  ^  Neal,  quoting  Fox,  II,  355. 


286  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

under  which  several  martyrs  were  executed.^*  At  his 
marriage  to  Anna  of  Qeve,  the  Dutch  flocked  to  England 
in  great  numbers,  among  them  large  numbers  of  Ana- 
baptists. Some  of  these  evidently  belonged  to  the  martyr 
class,  men  who  felt  compelled  to  witness  in  season  and 
out  of  season.  Of  them  Neal  tells  us,^^  "  They  began  to 
broach  their  strange  opinions,  being  branded  by  the  gen- 
eral name  Anabaptists." 

Then  came  the  convocation  of  Henry  VIII,  of  1536, 
a  year  after  the  collapse  of  the  Miinster  kingdom.  The 
"  strange  opinions "  of  which  Neal  speaks,  must  have 
been  therefore  the  original  Anabaptist  heresies  of  the 
Miinster  faction.  Not  only  did  they  preach,  but  they 
wrote  down  their  opinions  and  thus  tried  to  spread  them. 
This  is  clear  from  the  law  ^®  of  Henry  VIII,  promulgated 
in  1539: 

That  those  who  are  in  any  error,  as  Sacramentarians,  Ana- 
baptists, or  any  others  that  sell  books,  having  such  opinions  in 
them,  being  once  known,  both  the  books  and  such  persons  shall  be 
detected  and  disclosed  immediately  to  the  king's  Majesty,  or 
one  of  his  privy-councillors,  to  the  intent  to  have  it  punished, 
without  favor,  even  with  the  extremes!  of  the  law. 

And  yet,  these  harsh  statues  notwithstanding,  the  Ana- 
baptist martyrdoms  during  the  reign  of  Henry  were  few, 
compared  to  the  large  numbers  at  that  time  in  the  coun- 
try. 

These  statutes  were  still  in  vogue  in  Edward's  reign, 
and  under  them  undoubtedly  the  two  martyrs  mentioned 
were  executed.  This  was  still  the  case  in  Elizabeth's 
reign,  1558-1603,  for  the  Anabaptists  were  singled  out 
by  the  queen,  as  the  pet  objects  of  her  hatred  of  non- 
conformity.    In  reply  to  Fox's  letter  pleading  for  clem- 

"  Neal,  II,  354.  "  Fox,  "  Martyrs,"  II,  440. 

» Idem,  354. 


LATER  HISTORY  287 

ency,  she  declared  ^"^  "  their  impieties  to  be  damnable,  and 
that  she  was  necessitated  to  this  severity/' 

As  the  current  of  immigration  from  Holland  steadily 
waxed  in  volume  during  her  reign,  we  may  conclude 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  Anabaptists  in  England  kept 
their  traces  well  hidden.  As  was  the  case  in  Holland, 
the  greater  part  of  them  ultimately  joined  the  Qiurch 
of  the  land.  But  the  ancipnt  principles  were  never  wholly 
forgotten ;  they  formed  rather  a  leaven  both  in  the  Estab- 
lished Church  and  in  the  kingdom,;  and  it  is  from  the 
mass  of  these  folk,  I  think,  that  the  ranks  of  the  various 
non-conformist  bodies  in  England  were  originally  largely 
recruited.  A  glance  at  the  map  of  England  will  further- 
more convince  us  that  the  Roundheads  of  Cromwell 
mainly  sprang  from  the  same  districts  and  counties  where 
these  people  had  originally  settled  in  large  numbers. 
And  it  is  worth  considering  that  when  the  Brownists 
sought  for  a  haven  of  refuge,  they  did  not  go  to  Scan- 
dinavia or  other  countries,  but  were  instinctively  drawn 
to  Holland. 

Many  of  the  names,  even  in  this  day,  on  the  pages  of 
the  directories  of  the  cities  where  the  early  Anabaptists 
loved  to  congregate,  and  in  all  parts  of  England,  are  dis- 
tinctively Dutch. 

And  many  of  these  people  not  only  joined  the  Church 
of  the  land,  but  they  intermarried  with  the  daughters  of 
the  land;  but  the  inherited  traits  of  the  old  view-points 
remained  in  evidence,  even  in  their  children's  children. 
And  thus  the  tie  between  the  Puritan  of  England  and  the 
Puritan  of  Holland,  yclept  Anabaptist,  is  far  closer  than 
is  generally  supposed. 

As  late  as  1575,  when  the  great  stream  of  immigration 
had   practically    stopped,    Thomas    Fuller    could    say,*** 

w  Neal,  II,  360.  68  "  Church  Hist.,"  Cent.  XVI,  104. 


288  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

"Though  the  Anabaptists  have  increased  wonderfully  in 
the  land,  as  yet  the  English  are  free  from  the  infection." 
Which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  Anabaptists,  in 
leaving  Holland,  had  largely  left  behind  their  self-asser- 
tiveness  and  spirit  of  propaganda,  in  which  they  certainly 
had  not  been  lacking  in  the  homeland. 

The  same  testimony  was  borne  by  John  Fox,  in  his 
well-known  petition  for  clemency,  to  Queen  Elizabeth. 
Said  he,°^  "  I  hear  not  of  an  Englishman  that  is  in- 
clined to  this  madness."  And  again,  "I  understand  there 
are  some  here  in  England,  but  come  hither  from  Holland." 

All  of  which  goes  to  show  that,  if  they  kept  up  an 
organization  at  all,  it  was  done  very  quietly  and  that  for 
the  greater  part  they  led  an  unobtrusive,  quiet  life  and 
that  to  an  extent  far  greater  than  we  usually  think  they 
were  absorbed,  ecclesiastically  and  nationally,  by  their 
environment.  And  it  is  among  these  men  and  their  de- 
scendants that  we  have  to  seek  for  the  fathers  of  the 
great  Baptist  Church.  No  one  claims  that  these  Baptists 
were  an  indigenous  English  growth.  The  claim  of  vast 
antiquity  for  genuine  Baptist  churches  in  England,  for- 
merly maintained  by  the  older  Baptist  historians,  is  shat- 
tered by  men  like  Newman,  Whitsitt,  Lofton,  and 
Vedder.«« 

The  fathers  of  the  English  Baptists  were  Dutch  Ana- 
baptists, whose  views  on  many  of  their  old  doctrines  were 
modified  in  the  course  of  time,  and  who  had  largely  been 
assimilated  by  the  English  nation.  Whatever  views  they 
held  on  baptism,  they  were  not  yet  immersionists ;  that 
was  to  come  later.  The  current  swept  ever  to  and  fro. 
During  the  reign  of  Henry  VUI,  Brandt  tells  us :  "  In 
the  year  1539,  thirty-one  Anabaptists  that  fled  from  En- 

*•  Whitsitt,  quoting  Crosby,  35. 
•"  See  next  page. 


LATER  HISTORY  289 

gland  were  put  to  death  at  Delft ;  the  men  were  beheaded, 
the  women  drowned."  If  they  were  known  as  Anabap- 
tists there  was  no  peace  for  them  on  either  side  of  the 
channel. 

I  have  neither  time  nor  space  to  take  you  to  the  cradle 
of  the  great  Baptist  Church  in  England,  whence  it  spread 
to  America  and  over  all  the  world.  For  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  the  subject,  I  refer  you  to  Newman's  "  History 
of  the  Baptist  Church,"  in  the  American  Church  History 
series ;  to  the  "  History  of  Antipedobaptism,"  by  the  same 
author ;  to  Whitsitt's  admirable  "  A  Question  in  Baptist 
History  " ;  to  Lofton's  "  The  English  Baptist  Reforma- 
tion," and  to  Vedder's  "  Short  History  of  the  Baptists." 

In  the  days  of  the  Reformation,  the  Anabaptists  orig- 
inated or  rather  revived  the  doctrine  of  adult  baptism; 
the  English  Baptists,  receiving  this  main  doctrine  from 
the  Anabaptists,  added  to  it  by  returning  to  the  ancient 
general  mode  of  baptism — immersion. 

Doctor  Whitsitt  has  undoubtedly  forever  settled  the 
date  of  this  return,  putting  it  at  1641.  Let  me  repeat 
here  again  what  I  have  said  before,  the  baptism  by  im- 
mersion of  Richard  Blunt  among  the  Rhynsburgers  or 
Collegiants  is  a  regrettable  incident.  For  two  reasons. 
He  did  not  need  it,  for  he  had  back  of  him  the  solid 
practise  of  the  Church  for  thirteen  centuries.  And,  if 
he  sought  for  "  apostolic  succession,"  he  did  not  find  it. 
In  the  first  place,  because  the  men  who  imparted  bap- 
tism to  him  invalidated  this  baptism  by  their  Socinian 
affiliations.  What  could  a  baptism,  imposed  by  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  mean  to  the  recipient? 
Geesteranus,  who  introduced  this  mode  of  baptism  among 
them,  was  an  out-and-out  Socinian,  and  to  the  Socinians 
baptism  meant  nothing  at  all.  And  secondly,  because 
John  Batten,  who  baptized  him,  being  a  common  lay- 


290  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

man  and  not  ordained  to  administer  the  sacraments,  had 
nothing  to  impart.  As  we  have  seen,  on  the  ground  of 
their  refusing  to  recognize  an  ordained  ministry,  the 
Waterlandians,  who  were  very  tolerant  on  the  subject  of 
immersion  in  the  eighteenth  century,  yet  refused  to  recog- 
nize the  baptism  of  the  Collegiants  and  rebaptized,  much 
as  they  hated  to  do  so,  all  Collegiants  who  came  to  them. 
There  is  therefore  something  almost  humorous  in  the 
words  of  Doctor  Whitsitt :  *^ 

In  1641,  these  two  parties  "had  met  in  two  companies"  and 
did  intend  so  to  meet  after  this,"  and  these  "two  companies" 
did  each  set  apart  one  to  baptize  the  rest.  Mr.  Blunt  bap- 
tizing those  from  the  Jessey  church,  and  Mr.  Blacklock  those 
from  the  Spilsbury  church,  after  Mr.  Blacklock  had  first  received 
baptism  from  Blunt,  who,  in  his  turn,  received  it  in  Holland. 

1641  then  is  the  natal  year  of  the  great  Baptist  Church. 
Anabaptism  itself  had  been  forbidden  under  the  law  by 
any  mode  of  baptism;  but  after  1641,  immersion  became 
the  crime. 

The  earliest  prescription  of  immersion  by  an  English 
confession  of  faith  is  found  in  Article  40  of  "  The  Con- 
fession of  Faith  of  Seven  Congregations  or  Churches  of 
Christ  in  London,"  1644 :  «2 

That  the  way  and  manner  of  dispensing  this  ordinance  is  dip- 
ping or  plunging  the  body  under  water.  It  being  a  sign,  must 
answer  the  things  signified,  which  is  that  interest  the  saints 
have  in  the  death,  burial,  and  resurrection  of  Christ;  and  that 
as  certainly  as  the  body  is  under  water  and  risen  again,  so 
certainly  shall  the  bodies  of  the  saints  be  raised  by  the  power 
of  Christ,  in  the  day  of  the  resurrection,  to  reign  with  Christ. 

In  this  same  year,  1644,  the  name  "  Baptist "  was  first 
used,®^  as  close  a  translation  as  is  possible  of  the  Dutch 


•1 "  A  Question,"  etc.,  87. 
«  ••  A  Question,"  90.  "» 


Idem,  92. 


LATER  HISTORY  291 

word  Doopsgesinde,  then  quite  generally  used  to  denote 
the  Anabaptists  in  Holland. 

The  churches  of  Helwys  and  Murton  became  the  moth- 
ers of  the  General  Baptists,  we  are  told  by  Newman,®* 
since 

before  1624  a  controversy  had  arisen  as  to  the  duty  of  Chris- 
tians, the  lawfulness  of  oaths,  magistracy,  and  warfare,  and  as 
to  the  obligatoriness  of  the  weekly  celebration  of  the  Supper. 

In  many  of  these  we  recognize  the  old  familiar  doctrines 
of  the  Anabaptists.  Mrs.  Brons  mentions  the  Indepen- 
dents, the  Baptists,  and  the  Quakers  as  the  offspring 
(Nachkommen)  of  the  Mennonites.  "  They  lost  their 
name,  but  the  spirit  remained  alive."  ®^ 

As  we  have  seen  the  Dutch  Mennonites  were  deeply 
affected  by  Arminianism.  But  so  were  the  English  Bap- 
tists, and  half  a  century  after  their  birth,  in  the  very 
year  in  which  they  were  officially  recognized  by  the  Act 
of  Toleration  of  William  III,  in  1689,  they  split  on  this 
rock  into  General  and  Particular  Baptists. 

The  General  Baptists  most  closely  resembled  the  Ana- 
baptists. According  to  Mosheim,  their  creed,  as  set  forth 
by  William  Whiston  in  his  "  Memoirs  "  ®®  and  by  Wall's 
"  History  of  Infant  Baptism,"  ®^  was  as  follows :  ®^ 

1.  They  were  the  only  Church  of  Christ. 

2.  They  immerse  once,  not  thrice;  and  either  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  or  only  in  the 
name  of  Jesus. 

3.  They  are  premillenarians. 

4.  They  hold  Menno's  views  of  the  incarnation. 

•*  Newman,  '•  Hist.  Antxped.,"  391. 
"^  Brons,  T.  oder  M.,  351. 
«II,  461. 
«^Lat.  Ed.,  1705. 
•*  Mosheim,  III,  249. 


292  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

5.  They  consider  the  Noachic  law  binding  on  the 
Church. 

6.  They  are  soul-sleepers. 

7.  They  believe  in  extreme  unction. 

8.  Some  keep  both  the  Lord's  Day  and  the  Sabbath. 

Whether  Mosheim  was  well  informed  or  not,  so  much 
is  certain,  that  the  present-day  Mennonites  claim  the 
General  Baptists  as  their  true  children  and  point  to  the 
Particular  Baptists  as  stray  children;  these  follow 
Menno,  those  Calvin.*^ 

The  Particular  Baptists,  originally  the  weaker  party, 
were  destined  to  win  the  long-distance  race.  Newman 
has  truly  said  of  them :  ^® 

It  remained  for  the  Particular  B;aptists  (Calvinistic)  formed 
by  a  secession  from  a  London  Congregational  Church,  in  1633, 
to  embody  antipedobaptism  in  a  form  that,  animated  by  the  mis- 
sionary spirit,  has  proved  highly  effective.  In  this  form  dur- 
ing the  last  century,  its  progress  has  been  marvelous,  and  there 
seems  to  be  no  limit  to  its  possible  achievements. 

And  what  are  we  to  say  to  the  claim  made  by  Mrs. 
Brons,  that  the  English  Independents  and  Quakers  were 
the  oflfspring  of  the  Dutch  Anabaptists?  May  I  quote 
what  the  keenest  author  on  Puritanism,  Dr.  J.  Gregory, ^^ 
has  to  say  on  the  subject? 

The  Anabaptists  were  Puritans  before  Puritanism  had  sprung 
into  recognized  existence  and  held  subsequently  all  that  the 
Puritans  afterward  contended  for. 

Look  at  the  famous  Cartwright  principles : 

1.  That  the  names  and  functions  of  archbishops  and  arch- 
deacons should  be  abolished. 

"•  Brons,  T,  oder  M.,  356. 

«  Newman,  "  Hist.  Antiped.,"  393- 

W'Purit.,"  176. 


LATER  HISTORY  293 

2.  That  the  apostolic  order  and  offices  should  be  revived, 
namely,  bishops  and  deacons;  the  former  to  preach  and  conduct 
worship,  the  latter  to  attend  to  the  ministration  of  the  poor. 

3.  That  the  church  should  be  governed  by  its  own  ministers 
and  not  by  bishops,  chancellors,  and  nominees  of  archdeacons. 

4.  That  each  minister  should  have  charge  of  a  particular  con- 
gregation, and  not  exercise  supervision  over  others. 

5.  That  no  minister  should  put  himself  forward  as  a  candidate 
for  the  ministry. 

6.  That  ministers  ought  not  to  be  created  by  the  authority  of 
the  bishop,  but  to  be  openly  and  fairly  chosen  by  the  people. 

Now  tell  me,  was  there  anything  in  their  ecclesiastical 
environment  which  could  suggest  these  principles?  Is  it 
not  self-evident  that  these  principles  were  inherited? 

And  have  we  not  met  them  one  and  all,  as  the  age-long 
principles  of  the  Anabaptists?  Where  did  they  get  their 
sober  ideals  of  life,  of  dress,  of  speech?  Where  their 
abstemiousness  and  separateness  from  the  world?  The 
answer  lies  in  the  seed  that  was  sown  by  the  refugee 
Anabaptists  in  England.  It  had  lost  its  identity  for  a 
while,  but  it  had  leavened  with  its  views  of  life  a  portion 
of  the  English  Church  and  had  thus  created  the  Puritan 
tendency. 

And  was  it  different  with  the  Brownists,  from  whom 
later  on  the  Congregational  Church  in  America  was  to 
spring  ? 

Brown  preached  in  Norwich,  one  of  the  great  centers 
in  which  Dutch  Anabaptists  found  asylum.  They  formed 
at  that  time  "  full  half  of  the  population  of  the  city."  ''^ 
What,  in  view  of  this  intimate  and  daily  contact  with 
these  folk,  is  one  to  say  of  Brown's  principles,  as  laid 
down  in  his  "  Life  and  Manners  of  True  Christians," 
1582?    Says  he:" 

"Gregory,  "  Purit.,"  127. 
"Idem,  128. 


294  THE  DUTCH  ANABAPTISTS 

The  Church  planted  or  gathered  is  a  company  or  number  of 
Christians  or  believers,  which,  by  a  willing  covenant  made  with 
their  God,  are  under  the  government  of  God  and  Christ  and 
keep  his  laws,  in  one  holy  communion.  The  Church  government 
is  the  Lordship  of  Christ,  in  the  communion  of  his  offices, 
whereby  his  people  obey  his  will  and  have  mutual  use  for  their 
graces  and  callings  to  further  their  godliness  and  welfare. 

Again  the  same  familiar  note  we  have  heard  so  often 
before  in  the  writings  of  the  Anabaptists.  Says  Greg- 
ory/* "  They  claimed  a  kind  of  divine-right  democracy." 

And  that  precisely  was  the  Anabaptist  ideal — absolute 
individuality,  but  all  this  individuality  controlled  and  abso- 
lutely ruled  by  the  will  of  God.  What  of  the  polity  of 
these  Brownists,  of  their  church  organization,  of  their 
church  officers,  of  their  absolute  local  autonomy  ?  Again 
the  key  to  unlock  the  door  of  mystery  m,ust  be  found 
in  the  Anabaptist  leaven,  in  England,  for  several  genera- 
tions. 

Driven  away  from  England,  the  Brownists  settled  in 
the  Netherlands ;  a  group  at  Middleburg,  another  at  Am- 
sterdam, still  another  at  Leyden,  where  they  were  every- 
where in  constant  contact  with  the  Doopsgezinden.  And 
from  the  Leyden  group  the  celebrated  "  Pilgrim  Fathers  " 
went  forth  who,  in  1620,  sailed  on  the  Mayflower  from 
Delfthaven,  to  plant  the  banner  of  Independency  on  the 
North  American  mainland,  and  ultimately  to  perpetuate 
their  principles  in  the  founding  of  the  Congregational 
Church. 

And  where  again  did  the  Quakers  receive  their  mys- 
ticism, their  quaint  separateness  of  dress  and  customs, 
their  faith  in  the  leading  of  the  Spirit  in  their  own  leader- 
ship, their  abhorrence  of  violence  and  war  and  arms  and 
the  oath,  their  antidogfmatic  and  anticonfessional  ideas? 

'*  Idem,  129. 


LATER  HISTORY       —*-    295 

Unquestionably  from  the  same  source.  For  although 
Fox  spoke  harshly  against  them,  grouping  them  all  to- 
gether under  the  hated  name  "  Anabaptists,"  he  adopted 
for  his  followers  the  very  principles  which  they  held  dear. 

And  thus  I  have  come  to  the  end  of  my  story.  Has  it 
been  worth  while  to  tell  it?  Are  not  these  Anabaptists, 
of  whom  most  of  us  knew  so  little,  worth  knowing? 

For  better  or  for  worse  they  have  exerted  an  influence 
far  wider  and  deeper  than  their  numbers  warranted. 

Shaken,  bruised,  and  broken  by  persecution;  torn  by 
inward  schisms  and  divisions;  animated  by  a  spirit  of 
courage  and  hope  such  as  the  world  has  but  rarely  seen ; 
strong  in  their  weakness;  notwithstanding  all  their  de- 
partures from  the  faith,  like  the  Moravians,  still  centering 
their  all  in  Christ — they  stand  till  this  day. 

I  may  close  with  a  word  of  Menno  to  the  churches: 

Hold  fast  continually  to  the  spirit  of  Christ,  to  his  doctrine 
and  example,  if  you  would  not  deceive  yourselves.  For  every 
spirit  which  is  not  satisfied  with  Christ's  spirit,  doctrine,  and 
example,  is  not  from  God  and  will  be  robbed  of  the  light  of 
saving  truth. 

Do  the  butch  Mennonites  measure  up  to  this  farewell 
word  of  their  founder? 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


(The  abbreviations  in  parentheses  are  those  used  in  the  foot- 
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New  Haven,  1832. 

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14.  "The  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic,"  J.  Motley,  3  vols. 
Harper  and  Brothers,  New  York,  1855. 

15.  Geschiedenis  des  Vaderlands,  W.  Bilderdyk.  Amsterdam, 
1853. 

16.  Geschiedenis  van  Nederland,  J.  van  Lennep.  Leiden,  7de 
Druk. 

17.  "History  of  the  Reformation,"  J.  H.  Merle  d'Aubigne. 
Tract  Society. 

18.  Calvyn's  Institutie,  G.  Ph.  Zalsman.    Kampen,  1865. 

19.  "  History  of  the  Christian  Religion  and  Church,"  Augustus 
Neander.    Boston,  1872. 

20.  De  Wederdoopers  ie  Maestricht  en  Roermond,  Jos.  Habets. 
1877. 

21.  "Summary  of  Christian  Doctrine,"  Dr.  F.  L.  Patton. 

22.  Geschichte  der  Wiedertdufer  und  ihres  Reiches  in  MUn- 
ster,  Dr.  Ludwig  Keller.    Miinster,  1880. 

23.  Ein  Apostel  der  Wiedertdufer,  Dr.  Ludwig  Keller.  Mun* 
ster,  1882. 

24.  Overzicht  der  Geschiedenis  van  den  doop  by  Onderdont' 
peling,  De  Hoop  Scheffer.    Amsterdam,  1882. 

25.  Inventaris  der  Ar chief -Stukk en,  berustende  by  de  Vereen- 
igde  Doopsgezinde  Gemeente  te  Amsterdam,  De  Hoop  Scheflfer. 
1883-1884. 

26.  Geschichte  des  Miinterschen  Aufruhrs,  Cornelius.  Leipsic, 
1885. 

27.  Melchior  Hoffmann,  ein  Prophet  der  Wiedertdufer,  Zur 
Linden.    1885. 

28.  Gereformeerde  Dogmatiek,  Dr.  H.  Bavinck,  4  vols.  Kam- 
pen.   J.  H.  Bos.    1895. 

29.  "Puritanism,"  J.  Gregory.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co.,  New 
York,  1896. 

30.  "The  Archeology  of  the  Mode  of  Baptism,"  Dr.  B.  B. 
Warfield.    "Bibliotheca  Sacra,"  October,  1896. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  299 

31.  Tien  Jaren  uit  den  Tachtig-jarigen  Oorlog,  Dr.  R.  Fruin. 
S.  Gravenhage.    1899.    5de  Druk. 

32.  "  A  Question  in  Baptist  History,"  W.  H.  Whitsitt.    Louis- 
ville, 1896. 

33.  "History    of    Antipedobaptism "    ("Hist,    of    Antiped."), 
A.  H.  Newman.    Philadelphia,  1897. 

34.  "English  Baptist  Reformation,"  Geo.  A.  Lofton.     Louis- 
ville, 1899. 

35.  "The  Reformation  in  Germany,"   H.   C   Vedder.     New 
York.  1914. 

36.  Tdufgesinnten  oder  Mennoniten  {T.  oder  M.),  A.  Brons. 
Amsterdam,  1912.    Second  Edition. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Adamites,  58, 

Acronius,  120. 

Adrian  VI,  famous  indulgence  of,  9. 

i  Kempis,  Thomas,  189. 

a  Lasco,  John,  no,  284. 

Alenson's  Tegenbericht,  6,  136,  162, 
217. 

Allerfynsten  (Very  Strictest),  225- 
227. 

Alva,  141. 

Ambrose,  178. 

American  Mennonites,  266. 

Amsterdam,  attempts  on,  85,  88. 

Anabaptists:  an  aid  to  government, 
207;  church  life  of,  in  eighteenth 
century,  218;  confessions  of,  201, 
334;  defections  from,  198;  dis- 
putes among,  118;  expansion  of 
faith  of,  33;  hatred  of,  41-45,  148; 
indictment  against,  44;  individual- 
ism of,  136,  152;  in  England,  285- 
293;  in  Holland,  48;  internal  con- 
dition of,  197;  life  of,  92,  17s, 
i93f  i94t  20s;  Luther  on  martyrs 
of,  43;  meager  information  con- 
cerning, I,  2;  menace  of  name  of, 
92,  108;  names  of,  216,  225;  nu- 
merical strength  of,  282;  settle- 
ment of,  in  the  North,  40;  social 
standing  of,  205;  sprinklers,  184; 
strength  of,  145;  students  of  the 
Scriptures,  121,  199;  Swiss,  28; 
theology  of,  in  general,  151;  views 
of,  188,  209. 

Anjou,  council  of,  178. 

Anna  of  Cleve,  286. 

Anti-housebuyers,  60,  135. 

Apocrypha,  153. 

Apostolic  succession:  Anabaptist 
views  of,  115,  214;  idea  of, 
started  by  J.  C.  Vander  Meulen, 


215;  Richard  Blunt  and,  181, 
289. 

Apostoolians,  221,  222,  233. 

Aquinas,  Thomas,  178. 

Arminianism,  2^7-2^6. 

Arminius,  Jacobus,  248. 

Arms,  use  of,  Anabaptist  views  con- 
cerning, 213,  226,  233,  236,  291, 
294. 

Amoldists,  17. 

Avoidance,  192,  193,  204^ 

Ayssens,  last  of  the  martyrs,  42. 


Backereel,  Hermes,  119. 

Baden  articles,  41. 

Ban,  22,  61,  i30-i37>   i89-i95>  204, 

226,  236. 
Bankrupts,  135,  215. 
Baptism:    adult,    iSi;    among    the 

fine,  229;  among  the  coarse,  235, 

239;   late  administration   of,   239, 

281;  of  proselytes,  177. 
Baptist,  290. 
Baptists:  beginnings  of  English,  289; 

general,  291;  name  of,  first  used, 

290;  particular,  292. 
Baptizo,  176. 
Batenborch,    J.    Van,    97,    98,    126, 

214*. 

Batten,  John,  180,  289. 

Beginsel  of  Carel  van  Ghent,  122. 

Belgic  confession,  247. 

Benedict,  David,  181,  215. 

Benevolence  of  Anabaptists,  266. 

Bible  among  Anabaptists,  199. 

Bibliotheca  Reformatoria  Neerlan- 
dica:  description  of,  3;  editors  of, 
3;  specially  important  volumes  of, 
5;  value  of,  7,  150,  161,  243. 

Bidloo  brothers,  244,  245. 

Biemaert,  Mattheus,  139. 


303 


304 


INDEX 


Bishops  or  elders,  226,  231. 

Blake  on  immersion,  179. 

Blunt,  Richard,   180,   182,  257,  289, 

290. 
Bocholt,  meeting  at,  92. 
Boeckbinder,  Bartholomew,  68. 
Boeckbinder,  Gerritt,  69. 
Bohemian  Brethren,  181. 
Bolshevism  of  the  sixteenth  century, 

28. 
Bonaventura,  178. 
Boskoop,  12. 
Boucher,  Joan,  160. 
Bouwens,   Leonard,    112,    115,    117, 

126,  129,  131,  190. 
Brethren  of  the  Common  Life,  10. 
Brons,  Madame,  iii,  253,  255,  267, 

271,  279,  283,  284,  292. 
Brotherly  Union,  41, 
Brownists,  293,  294. 
BuUinger,  Henry,  36,  107. 
Bunderius,  Joannis,  124. 
Biitzer,  51,  61. 


Callixtus  III,  21. 

Candidates  for  the  ministry,  241. 

Carel  van  Ghent,  217. 

Carlstadt,  26. 

Cartwright  principles,  292. 

Casimir  II,  Henry,  254. 

Cassander,  102. 

Catechetical    instruction,    228,    238, 

281. 
Catherine  Parr,  284. 
Celibacy,  22. 

Chambers  of  Rhetoricians,  11. 
Charles  V,  21. 

Chiliasm,  64,  67,  73,  74,  84,  196. 
Christ,  doctrine  of,  158,  278. 
"  Christians,"  as  party  name,  234. 
Chrysostom,  178,  187. 
Churches  of  Anabaptists,  215. 
Claesken,  172. 
Clermont,  council  of,  178. 
Coarse   Mennonites,   221,    223,   224, 

231-233. 
Collection,  228. 
Collegiants,  180,  182,  221,  239,  250, 

251,  25s,  257,  268. 


Communism,  29,  65,  70,  72,  74,  76. 
"  Concerned  Ones,"  135. 
Confessions,  Anabaptist,  201. 
Congregationalists   and   Anabaptists, 

136,293. 
Conservatism  of  Anabaptists,  283. 
Consistory,  power  of,  237. 
Constitution  of  Holland,  change  of, 

264. 
Controversy  about  Socinians,   260. 
Cooltuyn,  Cornelis,  13,  121. 
Coonhert,  D.  V.,  62,  247. 
Corvinus,  Anton,  70,  82. 
Covenant  of  four  cities,  128,  131. 
Cramer,  A.   M.,  8,   18,   19.   54,   113. 

114,  273. 
Cramer,  S.,  20,  41,  61,  97,  99,  134, 

154.  159,  162,  163,  166,  171,  174, 

i8s,  270,  273. 
Culture  among  Anabaptists,  227,  237, 

246. 
Customs,    peculiar,    of    early    Ana- 
baptists, 216. 
Cuyper,  Derk,  68,  97. 
Cyprian,  178,  187. 


D'Alphonse,  276. 

Dantzigers,  225,  226. 

Dathenus,  120. 

Deacons,  228,  230. 

"Deduction,"  the,  261. 

Defections   among  the    Anabaptists, 

198. 
De  Bres,  Guido,  43,  158,  247. 
De  Genestet,  267. 
De   Haan,   Galenus,   221,   233,   244, 

253.  258,  269. 
Deknatel,  J.,  246. 
De    Ries    and    Gerritsz,    Confession 

of,  201. 
Didache,  the,  177. 
Diesentschur,  77. 
Discipline:   cases  of,   125;   rigor  of, 

125. 
Disputation,  a  craze  for,  118. 
Docetics,  162. 

Domine,  the  title  for  pastors,  238, 
Donatists,  181. 


INDEX 


305 


Doopsgezinde,  origin  of  name,  5. 
Daopsgezinde  Bydragen,  273. 
Dordt,  Synod  of,  202,  248,  250, 
Dorpius,  7,  69,  77,  79. 
Duns  Scotus,  179. 


Edward  VI,  285. 

Edward  VII,  179. 

Efforts  at  union,  223,  280. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  179,  286,  288. 

Embden,  50,  59,  109,  120,  121,  123, 

129,  131,  133.  140. 
Enchiridion,  101,  104,  105,  168,  186, 

198. 
Encyclopedic  Frangaise,  273. 
England,  immersion  in,  178-184. 
Episcopius,  269. 
Erasmus,  22,  28,  loi,  179. 
Eschatology,  196. 
Eustachius  de  Zichenis,  209. 


Geesteranus,  Johannes,  180,  252, 
289. 

General  Mennonite  Society,  280. 

Gerrits,  Lubbert,   195,  222. 

Glasius,  on  name  of  Anabaptists, 
93. 

Goch,  Pupper  van,  59. 

Goedbeleid,  Hendrick,  89. 

Gomarus,  Francis,  248. 

Gottesbewustsein,   164, 

Grebel,  Conrad,  31,  33,  44,  180. 

Gregory,  J.,  292,  294. 

Gregory  the  Great,   178. 

Groningen  Society,  245,  280. 

Groningen  Theology,  277. 

Groningers,  225,  226. 

Grossbeck,  Heinrich,  80. 

Groups  of  Anabaptists,  126. 

Guests  at  the  communion,  236,  240. 

Guido  de  Bres,  estimate  of  Anabap- 
tists by,  43,  158. 

Guild  of  the  Cross-Brothers,  89. 


Faber,  GelHus,  191. 

Fabritius,  43,  158. 

"  Fall  of  the  Romish  Church,"  11. 

Familists,   58. 

Fasting,  25. 

Ferrara,  179. 

Fine   and    Coarse    Anabaptists,    220- 

242. 
Fine,    doctrinal    views    of    the,    220- 

232. 
Foot-washing,  61,  225,  230,  232,  236. 
Foreign  Mission  Society,  281. 
Fox,  John,  286,  288,  295. 
Franck,   Sebastian,   36,   61,   99,    126, 

180,  188,  192. 
"  Franconists,"  61. 
French  Revolution,  273. 
"  Frisian  Society,"  245,  280. 
Fruin  on  Anabaptists,  138,  144,  145, 

205. 
Fuller,  Thomas,  287. 
Fund  for  Foreign  Needs,  266. 
Funerals,  241. 


Galenists,"  221. 
Garbage  Cart,"  127. 


H 

Hard  Mennonites,  135,  207. 

Hamack,  i. 

Hase  on  the  French  Revolution, 
274. 

Henry  VIII,  179,  285,  286,  288. 

Hilversum,  Hendrick  van,  89. 

Hitzer,  Lewis,  159. 

Hoffman,  Melchior:  case  against,  52; 
chiliasm  of,  64,  67;  on  baptism, 
185;  on  grace,  174;  on  incarna- 
tion, 147,  160-162,  170;  sketch  of, 
47-53. 

Hoffmanites,  64,  73,  96,  97,  189, 
196,  217. 

Holiman,  Wolfgang,  180. 

Homster  Peace,  the,  133- 

Hortensius,  Lambertus,  8,  63. 

Housebuyers,  135. 

House  of  Love,  57,  58,  88. 

Houtsagher,  Pieter,  102. 

Huber,  207. 

Hiibmayer,  Balthasar,  30,  37,  39. 

Huidekooper,  246. 

Humanism,  10,  23. 

Hutter,  Johannes,  30,  36. 

Hutterites,  37- 


306 


INDEX 


Iconoclasm,  22. 

Immersion,  176-186  passim,  239,252, 

257y    289,    290. 

Incarnation,  the,  82. 

Individualism  of  Anabaptists,  136, 
152,  196,  209. 

Indulgences,  9. 

Infant  baptism,  52,  60,  82,  120,  181, 
186,  187,  225. 

Influence  of  Anabaptists  on  En- 
gland, 46,  282,  294. 

Inquisition,  9,  93,  141. 

Institutions  of  Anabaptists,  268-273. 

Intermarriage  forbidden  by  Gronin- 
gers,  227. 

Irenseus,  187. 


Jacques,  153.  IS9.  172,  184,  206, 
211. 

Jan  Jacohs-Gesinden,  232. 

Jans,  Michael,  130,  132. 

Janssen,  276. 

Jeens,  Wytze,  260. 

Joesten,  Leonard,  and  wife,  52. 

John  of  Leyden:  antecedents  of,  74; 
arrives  at  Miinster,  69,  74;  capture 
and  death  of,  8i ;  hypocrisy  of, 
78;  "King  David,"  77,  78;  kills 
his  wife,  79;  mentioned,  11,  69, 
159;  theology  of,  82. 

Jooskint,  159. 

Joris,  David:  books  of,  forbidden, 
55;  heresies  of,  54;  industry  of, 
54;  sketch  of,  47-53;  teachings  of, 
S6. 

K 

Keller,  Ludwig,  on  Reformation,   7, 

40,  67,  69,  71.  73. 
Kerkhof,  Cornelius,  86. 
Kersenbroick,  69. 
Kistemaker,  A.,  87. 
Knipperdolling,  B.,  73,  74,  78,  83. 
Kolyn,  P.,  90. 

Koningstein,  Louis  von,  141. 
Krechting,  83. 


Kuenen,  A.,  278. 
Kuyper,  A.,  211. 


Lagarde,  22. 

"  Lammists,"  222,  233,  245-247,  270. 

Leeghwater,  J.  A.,  244. 

Leyden,  attempts  on,  85,  86. 

Lezius,  Professor,  283. 

Liberalism  among  Mennonites,  281. 

Libertines,  56. 

Liga  Salutaria,  25. 

Limborch,  269. 

Lofton,  182. 

Lollards,  181. 

Louvain,  9. 

Luther,  29,  43,  44,  63,  67,  loi,  107, 

108,  174,  186,  192,  209. 
Lutheranism    in    Holland,    48,    139, 

198,  276. 

M 

Maclaine,  testimony  of,  concerning 
the  Mennonites,  208. 

Magistrates,  views  of  Anabaptists 
as  to,  211,  212, 

Male  membership  of  Anabaptist 
churches,  227. 

Manz,  Felix,  30-35. 

Marnix  van  Aldegonde,  53. 

Marriage:  Anabaptist  rules  as  to, 
191,  192,  204,  231,  232,  241; 
Luther  on,  192;  spiritual,  57. 

Martyrs,  42,  137-144,  197. 

Mary,  mother  of  Jesus,  in  Anabap- 
tist theology,  161-171. 

Masson,  Professor,  212. 

Matthysz,  John,  20,  68,  74,  76,  78, 
84,  85,  97,  102,  226. 

Maurice  of  Nassau,  249,  264. 

Meerlanders,  126. 

Melanchthon,  26,  29,  44. 

Menno.     (See  "  Simons,  Menno.") 

Mennonite  Contributions,  273. 

Mennonites:  and  Anabaptists,  94, 
217;  and  Napoleon,  274,  275;- 
names  of,  219-242  passim;  nick- 
names given  to,  no. 

Mennonite  Waterlandians,  233-238 
passim,. 


INDEX 


307 


Merschman,  Friedrich,  70. 

Merula,  Angelus,  14. 

Meyndish,  Arends  Meyn,  208. 

Micron,  15,  119,  158,  171- 

Mierevelt,  244. 

Ministry,  the,  among  Anabaptists, 
213,  230,  232. 

Modalism,  154. 

Modernism,  277-280. 

MoUenbeke,  H.,  77. 

Morality  among  Anabaptists,  214, 

Moravian,  Anabaptists,  65. 

Miinster:  a  cave  of  AduUam,  75; 
effect  of  fanaticism  in,  20,  83; 
fall  of,  81;  fate  of  harem,  81; 
plans  for  relief  of,  79,  80;  reign 
of  terror  in,  77;  tragedy  of,  65, 
67,  69,  84,  93,  144,  197.  214. 

"  Miinsterites,"  65,  74,  98,  102,  112. 

Miinzer,  Thomas:  conditions  favor- 
ing success  of,  25;  echo  of,  64; 
influence  of,  26;  relation  of,  to 
Anabaptists,  25-28. 


N 

Naked-runners,  58,  88. 

Names   of   sects,    194.   210,   216-242 

passim. 
Neal,  160. 

New  Jerusalem,  the,  50,  69.. 
Newman,  A.  H.,  176,  181,  289. 
Newman,  Cardinal,  96. 
Netherlands,  religious  conditions  in, 

67. 
Nicolai,  171,  190,  226. 
Nieuwenhuis,  Tjerk,  270. 
Niewenhuizen,  Jan,  271. 
Niklaes,  H.,  55,  88,  126,  214. 
Nismes,  council  of,  178. 
Numerical   strength   of   Anabaptists, 

282. 


Oath,    Anabaptists'    refusal    to  take 

an,  209,  233. 
Offer  des  Heeren,  Het,  142,  206. 
Oldenbarneveldt,  Johann  of,  249. 
Ophoom,  J.  van,  134. 
Opzoomer,  Professor,  278. 


Origin,  187. 
Original  sin,  171. 

Orphans,   care    of,    among  Anabap- 
tists, 231,  281. 
Otius,  18,  103. 

Oude  Klooster,  85,  87,  102,  107, 
Outerman,  Jacques,  135. 


Pacifism,  231,  281. 

Parr,  Catherine,  284. 

Pastor,  Adam:  Cramer's  estimate  of, 
59;  on  grace,  175;  on  the  incar- 
nation, 163,  166;  on  the  oath,  210; 
on  the  Trinity,  155,  256,  258; 
sketch  of,  58-60. 

Pastoral  calls  by  Anabaptist  minis- 
ters, 241. 

Pastorites,  59,  126. 

Pastors  of  the  Anabaptists,  213,  230, 
232. 

Peasants,  21-25  passim. 

Peasant  War,  28. 

Peculiar  view-points  of  Anabaptists, 
209. 

Pelagianism,  173. 

Persecutions,  33-40,  42-46,  137-144, 
259. 

Petrobrusians,  17. 

Philip  II,  140. 

Philips,  Derek:  and  individualism, 
152;  banned,  134;  banned  others, 
137.  .190.  191;  character  of,  115; 
Enchiridion  of  (see  "  Enchiri- 
dion"); influence  of,  192,  193, 
197;  on  baptism,  102,  186;  on 
education,  10 1,  267;  on  the  incar- 
nation, 165,  168;  on  personal 
judgment,  152;  on  the  Supper, 
188;  on  the  Trinity,  157;  polemics 
of,  117;  sketch  of,  1 01 -106;  talents 
of,   loi;  writings  of,  6,   105,   131. 

Philips,  Obbe:  banned,  98;  baptism 
of,  97;  baptized  Menno  Simons, 
97,  108;  "Confession"  of,  6,  98- 
100;  no  fanatic,  98;  sketch  of,  96- 

lOI. 

Pieters,  Ebbe,  129,  130. 
Pieters,  Wybe,  260. 


308 


INDEX 


Polygamy,  77,  82. 

Prayers,  228,  238. 

Preachers,  229,  237. 

Preaching,  228,  238. 

Present    condition    of    Anabaptists, 

280. 
Priesthood,  exactions  of,  21. 
Printing-press,  invention  of,  22. 
Prisons,  140. 
Prophesyings,  29. 
Psalinsinging      among     Anabaptists, 

228. 
Puritans,  189,  194,  292. 
Purity  of  lives  of  Anabaptists,  205- 

209. 


Quakers,  292,  294. 


Racovian  Catechism,  257,  258. 

Radicalism,  47. 

Radicalism  of  Anabaptists,  282. 

Rauf,  120,  172. 

Ravenna,  council  of,  178,  179. 

Reformed  Church,  144.  MS.  146, 
198,  231,  247.  259-265,  278,  281. 

Religious  liberty,  146,  147,  212. 

Rembrandt  a  Mennonite?  244. 

Remonstrance  of  1610,  248. 

Remonstrant  Doopsgezinden,  233- 
235,  248,  25s,  268. 

Remonstrants,  248,  268,  276,  278. 

Renin,  Hoyte,  195. 

Reputation  of  Mennonites,  244. 

Revolutionary  movements  in  Hol- 
land, 84. 

Rhynsburgers,  251,  257,  289. 

Rittinghausen,  William,  266. 

Roll,  Hendrick,  5,  13,  74,  185, 
188. 

Roscius,  A.  J.,  244. 

Rottman,  71,  73,  74,  102. 

Roublin,  W.,  30,  31. 

Rues  and  his  work,  8,  18,  218, 
223. 

Riischer,  Rubert,  killed  by  Matthysz, 
76. 

Ruysdael  a  Mennonite,  244. 


S 


Sabius,  Jacobus,  14. 

Sacraments,  176-189,  228,  238-241. 

"Sacrifice  of  the  Lord,"  142,  153, 
154,  198,  206. 

Salvation,  doctrine  of,  173-176. 

Sandius,  163. 

Sattler,  Michael,  19,  28,  32,  37,  38, 
188. 

Schabalje,  J.  P.,  244. 

Schagen,  M.,  246. 

Scheffer,  De  Hoop,  32,  124,  131, 
176,  180. 

Schisms,  the  era  of,  118-137. 

Scholarship,  love  for,  267. 

Scholten,  D.,  278. 

Schroeder,  Johann,  74. 

Schyn,  Hermannus,  8,  104,  112,  138, 
157,  201,  204,  214,  215,  219,  246. 

Scriptures,  study  of,  by  Anabaptists, 
121,  152,  199. 

Seminary  at  Amsterdam,  268,  269, 
272. 

Shoemaker,  Herman,  86. 

Simons,  Menno:  activities  of,  68, 
no;  and  baptism,  107,  115;  and 
the  "Fine,"  220;  baptism  of,  in, 
226;  chief  doctrines  of,  114; 
Cramer's  estimate  of,  114;  last 
days  of,  no;  later  estimate  of, 
258;  mentioned,  59,  88,  103; 
monument  for,  in;  on  the  ban, 
190;  on  Christ,  165-168;  on  mag- 
istrates, 211;  on  rebaptism,  115; 
on  the  Trinity,  156;  ordained,  97; 
parentage  of,  106;  perils  of,  109, 
114;  picture  of,  112;  polemic  of, 
117;  principal  works  of,  116; 
sketch  of,  106-118;  work  accom- 
plished by,  29,  116. 

Slovenly  Mennonites,  207. 

Smyth  and  Helwys  on  magistrates, 
212. 

Social  standing  of  Anabaptists,  242, 
246. 

Society  after  Crusades,  21. 

Society  for  Public  Good,  271. 

Society  for  the  Mennonites  of  the 
Dispersion,  281. 


INDEX 


309 


Socinianism,  iS7.  i8o,  256.  268, 
289. 

Socinus,  Laelius,  and  Faustus,  257. 

Soft  Mennonites,  135. 

Sources  used  in  this  history,  4. 

Spalatin,  70. 

Sparendam  meeting,  92. 

Spiritual  marriage,  57- 

State  Church  of  Holland,  246. 

Stinstra,  John  Simons,  262. 

Strabo,  Walifridius,  178. 

Strassburg,  49,  52,  53,  180. 

Strassburg  Compromise,  168. 

Strassburg  Disputation,  44,  51. 

Strength  of  Mennonites  in  the  eight- 
eenth century,  244-247. 

Stubner,  29. 

Sunnists,  222,  233,  245. 

Supper,  the,  38,  82,  169,  187,  188, 
22g,  235,  240. 

Supranaturalism,  277. 

Swiss  Anabaptists:  leaders  of,  30; 
mode  of  baptism  of,  29,  31,  180; 
scattered,  40;  sketch  of,  28-40. 

Synods,  241. 


Valentine,  166. 

Van  Aken,  Gielis,  117,  118. 

VanBracht,  T.  J.,  17,  19. 

Van  Ceulen,  Pieter,  100,  133. 

Van  Dale,  A.  C,  244. 

Van  der  Goes,  J.  C,  244. 

Van  der  Heyden,  J,,  251. 

Van  der  Kodde,  J.,  251. 

Van  der  Meulen,  Quyryn  and  Jacob, 

135. 
Van  Geelen,  Jan,  87-91  passim. 
Van  Ghent,    Carel,   6,   42,    122,    123, 

132,  198,  217. 
Van  Hooghstraten,  Jacob,  10,  23. 
Van  Ophoom,  Jan,  134. 
Van  Voordt,  Cornelius,  104. 
Vedder,   H.    C,  2,   46,   47,  66,  282, 

289. 
Vennema,  Professor,  262. 
Vel nanus,    Anastasius,    13,    14,    22, 

124,  151,  159.  217. 
Views  of  life,  Anabaptist,  199. 
Volkerts,  Jan   (Trypmaker),   50,  53, 

67. 


Taxes,  unequal  distribution  of,  21. 

Ten  Gate,  42,  198,  246,  273, 

Terrorist  National  Convention, 
274. 

TertuUian,  178,  187. 

Tetzel,  9. 

Teyler  Institute,  270. 

Teyler,  Pieter,  271. 

Tinnegieter,  Jeroen,  129,  130. 

Tjommes,  Pieke,  260. 

Tolerance,  and  the  progress  of  Ana- 
baptists, 245. 

Trinity,  the  doctrine  of  the,  60,  61, 
109,  154,  278. 

Trypmaker,  Jan,  50,  53,  67. 


U 

Ukke-Wallists,  220. 

Union  of  Utrecht,  212,  254. 

Unitarians,  180. 

United  Mennonite  Society,  272. 


W 


Wagenaar,  141,  146,  148. 

Waldenses  and  Anabaptists:  advo- 
cates of  identity  of,  17,  181;  dif- 
ferences between,  16-18;  discus- 
cussion  of  relation  between,  21; 
Pyper  on  relation  between,  106. 

Waldshutt,  30. 

Warfield,  B.  B.,  176,  177. 

Wassenburg  preachers,  185. 

Waterlandians,  126,  167,  170,  182, 
201,  207,  220,  221,  224,  232-236, 
238,  240,  253,  254,  268,  283,  290. 

Westminster  Assembly,  183. 

Whitsitt,  289,  290. 

Wigs,  227. 

Willems,  Jan,  195. 

William  of  Orange,  141,  146-148, 
207. 

William  III,  291. 

Women,  place  of,  among  Anabap- 
tists, 17,  214,  216. 


310 


INDEX 


Worship  among  the  " 

Coarse," 

238. 

Z 

Wybo,  Joris,  158. 

Zand  %  85,  86. 

Wyclif,  181. 

Zichenis,  40. 

Y 

ZoUikon,  31,  189. 

Zondagshode,  De,  281. 

«  Young  "  and  "  Old  " 

Frisians, 

J35. 

Zwickau,  26,  27,  29,  44. 

Ypres,  95. 

Zwingli,  30-36  passim,  41, 

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